Business
Baltimore Chef Cooking up National Success
WASHINGTON INFORMER — It’s easy to think that personal chefs are only for the rich and famous.
By Stacy Brown
It’s easy to think that personal chefs are only for the rich and famous.
However, many top-notch cooks such as Baltimore’s Dorien Murphy regularly answer the call to pack up their pots and pans, spices and all the groceries needed to make delicious meals for everyday folks.
With a solid 5-star rating on Thumbtack, Murphy counts as a multi-venture owner and chef and he leads the development of the personalized culinary industry.
After attending Morgan State University and earning a degree in culinary arts from Baltimore International Academy, Murphy founded Cheffin, a uniquely curated food center for households in Baltimore, the District, Philadelphia, New York and other locations.
“My interest in cooking began at a very young age,” Murphy said. “At 5 years old, my passion for cooking was inspired by my parents. They always playfully battled in the kitchen. Mom had the best sides while Dad made the best ribs and sauce. That passion was expounded upon as I watched primetime Food Network programming.”
Murphy, who cites Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and G. Garvin as his favorite chefs, said the culinary industry has never been an easy one and that he’s had his own share of unique challenges.
“Balancing my love for business and culinary arts was the initial challenge,” he said.
Murphy grappled with how to satiate his entrepreneurial hunger through culinary arts.
“The recipe led me to the creation of Cheffin, a personal chef consortium,” Murphy said. “The next challenge was centering the Cheffin values around health and creating menus that were uniquely wellness based that clients would buy into. The solution to both challenges was found through passion, perseverance and patience.”
When he’s hired to cook for families in their homes or at other locations, Murphy readily informs his ultimately satisfied customers that he has a few favorite dish combinations that are inspired by the art of French and Italian cuisine that’s delivered with an American flair.
Among those are his Chilean sea bass with rosemary forbidden rice, corn bisque, and scorched sweet peppers.
“The Chilean sea bass is a warm and renewing dish,” Murphy said. “I love how hearty yet delicate the bass is. Its flakiness lends well in consuming complete bites of the corn bisque and forbidden rice.
“The scorched sweet peppers add some smokiness to the dish where all other components are light in flavor. It is definitely one of my favorites for sure,” he said.
The noted cook also features “Chef Dorien’s Winter Salad,” which includes poached shrimp and baby kale with shaved fennel, spiralized red beet, Kumato tomato, and maple vinaigrette.
“The winter salad is a joy and refreshing like the first snowflake of the season upon your tongue,” Murphy said. “I love how robust and healthy baby kale is. It really holds well on the plate and bonds with the stab of your fork. Baby kale is lightly bitter, it pairs with the sweetness of the spiralized beet and maple vinaigrette.
“The beet compliments the salad with a subtle saccharine tartness,” he said. “Its crunchy sweet texture helps balance the acidity and harsh licorice of the rice wine vinegar.”
With a background that’s steeped in the culinary arts and hospitality industry, Murphy has worked for luxury hotel companies as an executive, health auditor and consultant.
But his culinary journey began as a cook at the Elkridge Country Club in Baltimore, where he said he honed his skills.
That African Americans are now receiving more attention in the culinary world obviously isn’t lost on Murphy, he said.
“I believe that African Americans are continuously emerging as tastemakers in the United States,” he said. “The evolution of hip-hop, the prevalence of African Americans in the athletic landscape, fashion and business industries has advanced the acceptance of black culture in mainstream American life.
“America has become more accepting of the African-American voice and image, and as such, it has become more aware of the value African American expression has in a Caucasian-dominated profession,” Murphy said. “Black chefs have distinctive relationships with flavor and cooking that add tremendous value and variation to the culinary industry. It is very difficult to deny or prevent the progression of food and African American culture is an integral piece of this growth.”
This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Bay Area
State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
By Carla Thomas
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.
The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.
ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.
“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.
More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.
Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.
“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.
“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.
“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.
By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”
Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”
Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.
“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”
Business
Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data
The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.
By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media
The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.
Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.
Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.
“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.
Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.
Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.
The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.
“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.
The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.
Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.
“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”
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