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Inspired

Kenneth Temple | November 13, 2018

Food | Inside Magazine

I have two specialties: whatever pleases my clients & anything new

I am Chef Kenneth Temple, and I am inspired by challenge. What I love most about being a chef is taking a vision and making it a reality, whether for my own likeness or for a customer. Cooking is one of the only professions where you satisfy multiple senses, on multiple levels, with one interaction. I enjoy the process just as much as I enjoy being a witness to the result. I always say, “Knowing the ingredients can shape the flavor.”

When I first began this journey, I didn’t imagine it would become my passion. I found fulfillment in the craft, and it taught me a lot about myself. In hindsight, I can recall various moments of struggle that forced me to improve: being suspended from college, Hurricane Katrina, losing primary clients and being unemployed. With every win, I am inspired to achieve more. It is rewarding to exceed my limits by conquering the challenges that life puts in my path.

I am a living example that life gives us a basket of unknown ingredients. The outcome is the result of what we make of it.

Chef Kenneth Temple

No more than 10 years this side of culinary school, I built a private- chef business serving the likes of Lil Wayne and Mayor Mitch Landrieu, worked as an ambassador of New Orleans in South Africa, published a cookbook, launched a successful cooking show and was named “Chopped” champion on the Food Network.

As I continue to build the Kenneth Temple brand, I also want to inspire others. I can only assume there is a tribe of people who are also inspired by challenge. Being able to succeed on “Chopped” is synonymous with life. I am a living example that life gives us a basket of unknown ingredients. The outcome is the result of what we make of it.

More From Chef Kenneth

This essay was featured in Issue VI of Inside Hormel Food magazine. Click here to explore these unique collections of thought-provoking and heartwarming stories, recipes and features on our employees and the different areas of our company, all packaged up in a beautifully designed digital viewer for you.