Jeff Henderson, while serving a 10-year sentence in a federal penitentiary, worked in the prison kitchen where he discovered a love of, and talent for cooking that was hard but rewarding work.

After his release, he continued to hone his cooking skills and his passion, which led to a New York Times best-selling book about his life, an appearance on the “Oprah”, show and his extraordinary story is the subject of a Will Smith produced movie (tentatively titled “Cooked”) scheduled to begin shooting soon and Smith himself may play the role of Henderson.

All the fame has not stopped him from giving back however, and he has a program for prison inmates about to be released called the Chef Jeff Project that focuses on alternatives to the stigma of incarceration and how to start over and do it right.

The first step from a troubled past, he says, is the most important and believes a career in the kitchen makes sense for an ex-offender.

“They aren’t around any money, they have to learn something new daily, the work is hard but there is a very satisfying feeling just knowing someone is enjoying what you were involved in creating”, he explained.

His first stop on a so-far mercurial career came in 2001 when he was named the first African-American Chef de Cuisine at Las Vegas’ Caesar’s Palace. Soon, he was recruited as executive chef at other top restaurants including the fabled Café Bellagio in 2004.

In his Food Network television show ...