Chef Earlest Bell: The Chameleon

When I met Chef Earlest Bell I was immediately struck by his tall lean stature and his intelligent eyes that seemed to be observing everything so intensely. His appearance was every bit that of a serious chef in his crisp whites and knotted neckerchief, but the cool black man twist came with his clean white Kangol hat. This mix of culinary tradition and black culture was the perfect image to begin to understand the brilliance of this man, his work, and what his career represents. Our talk was entertaining, though provoking, and most definitely unique.

Chef Earlest Bell was born in Covington, Louisiana and is very serious about his personal lineage. Right away he told me about his very in-depth research and how he was able to traced his family back five generation throughout the Caribbean. This link to the south was evident when he began to discuss his dish for the evening while he was cleaning Glory® brand collard greens. He was excited and proud of the fact that his course would not only feature a southern staple, that the greens were from a black owned food brand, but also that his dish would contain PORK!! Throughout our discussion I was impressed by the depth of knowledge he had on a wide variety of topics from nutrition and southern food to black culture and genealogy. When you examine Chef Earlest's career more closely you can understand where his approach to cooking comes from.

Chef Bell was classically trained through his course work at Harold Washington College, Washburn Trade School (one of the oldest Culinary Schools in the country), and at the Culinary Institute of America. Professionally Chef Bell has held management positions with hospitality heavyweights like Disney and Marriott where he has won numerous awards, traveled extensively around the world, and received national recognition for his work. In 2001, he joined Gaylord Hotels group to become executive chef of the Convention Center at the Gaylord Palms Resort. He currently oversees the preparation of as many as 1.8 million meals a year in one of the country’s most celebrated and complex convention centers. His commitment to perfection and the highest quality service for each event, no matter the size, has been rewarded with dozens of accolades, most notably the AAA four diamond award. In addition to his award-winning work, Chef Bell is a board member of Culinary Wonders USA, has competed in various ACF and culinary trade competitions, and frequently lends his expertise to local charity events throughout central Florida.

Of all the answers Chef Earlest gave during our conversation, his thoughts on pride and heritage in relationship to the work were by far the most interesting. We had come to the end of our talk and I explained that the night before a member of BCH had posted a question about whether as black chefs we should reject soul food as slave food and not even entertain clients that assume we have a connection to it simply because we're black. His response was an emphatic “of course we should be connected to soul food and I’d like to talk to the black chef who thinks otherwise”. He explained how he feels soul food is who we are as a culture; how it’s the food of our struggle, of our triumph, and the foundation of American cooking. One of the things he mentioned being crucial to young black chefs is a blend of technical ability coupled with a tie to heritage that grounds that technical ability to something tangible. Chef Earlest himself is a complex mix of black pride and culinary classicism that begs the question “why should black chefs have to choose between the two?”. I walked away from our chat feeling more surely that we don’t have to abandon our heritage to prove a point because the work will always come first; that the ability to be rooted in our culture is one of the most important qualities a well rounded chef can have no matter the country of origin. I was honored to talk with and be entertained by Chef Earlest Bell and his cool, laid back persona, but I was also so enlightened by the depth of his culinary genius.

If you would like to know more about the specifics of his career, his decades of experience and what he’s up to currently please check out these links. Also Chef Bell will be cooking again at this years "Night on the Hill" dinner hosted by Culinary Wonders USA at the Casa Marina Hotel this January 17th, 2011 in Jacksonville Beach Fl.

http://hstrial-culinarywonde.intuitwebsites.com/EarlestBwll.html

http://www.worldfoodllc.com/earlest-bell.aspx

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/signature-chefs-of-orlando/id349263512