Chef Shaiheem: ‘How We See Ourselves is Most Important’
When he was 16 years old, Jahnesta Watson found himself in the middle of a familial drama that unexpectedly shifted the trajectory of his life.
Prior to this moment, Watson, now 28, had been the golden child. Beloved by most within the family, he was incapable of doing any wrong in their eyes. But he admits he made a terrible mistake by confiding in a family member.
“I had this uncle, the cool uncle; the kind of uncle who would slip you a beer on the side when no one was looking,” Watson told The Reckoning. “We were close; really close.”
So close that Watson decided this uncle would be the sole person he would confide in about his sexuality.
“Big mistake,” he said.
After an ugly altercation with the family matriarch, Watson’s grandmother, the uncle, shared Watson’s secret.
“He called himself getting back at her by outing me,” he said. “I ended up having to leave home. I have now been on my own since I was 17.”
Today, Watson, better known as Chef Shaiheem, owns The Guilty Plate Co., an Atlanta-based catering company. The Gulfport, Mississippi native, launched the business in Atlanta in 2016.
“My best friend encouraged me. He would talk about how much people spent on other food prep services and that my food was just as good, if not better.”
- Chef Shaiheem
He didn’t set out to be a chef. While cooking had been a passion of his for as long as he can remember, his passion becoming a career opportunity was never the plan. All of that changed when his fraternity brother/best friend pointed out what Chef Shaiheem now considers the obvious.
It all began with meal prepping.
His health had gotten out of control after years of bad eating habits. Tired of being overweight and unhappy, he began experimenting with recipes, looking to create meals that were both titillating to the senses and good for him.
Those around him took notice.
Eventually, he began packaging meals for his co-workers during the time he worked as an Injury Claims Specialist at State Farm. Today he works full time as a Title Search Coordinator at Zillow. He would get to work 30 to 40 minutes early just to make sure his coworkers’ orders were in the break room refrigerator before everyone arrived. Word began to spread and before he knew it, he had the beginnings of a catering business.
“My best friend encouraged me. He would talk about how much people spent on other food prep services and that my food was just as good, if not better,” he said. “As more orders came in, I started sharing my meals on social media and by January 2020, I had my first celebrity client.”
Mastering the ‘whys’ of cooking
As he proclaims on his website, theguiltyplate.com, feeding people is his love language. It is actually how he developed his recipe for banana pudding—loving on someone. Actually, the recipe came about after he tried to impress someone after a breakup. He figured, since they liked banana pudding, he would win them back with the popular dessert. While he did not win the guy back—“It was for the best anyway”—he did amass a reputation thanks to the recipe. So much so, that people have ordered the popular dessert from other states.
Baking, however, is not one of his strengths. But he does enjoy experimenting.
“It's a lot of trial and error. I have people come to me regularly asking me to teach them, but teaching others is hard for me because I don't really write things down. I struggle with recipes,” he said. “It’s a lot of feeling around for me. I will get an idea, buy groceries, get in the kitchen, and experiment until I get it right.”
By watching a lot of other chefs (he loves the Food Network’s “Chopped”), he learns.
“Not to see what they are doing. I watch to learn from their mistakes,” he said. “When contestants are being corrected by those who have been cooking much longer than I have, I take away from watching an understanding of the basics. For me, it’s my fundamental training.”
From plating to portion sizes to the importance of building flavor profiles, Chef Shaiheem said he has learned many of the whys of cooking.
“It is one thing to say, ‘Okay, with a steak or any portion of red meat, you need to let it sit so that it can cook at room temperature.’ Anyone can season a steak and put it on the grill,” he said. “But it's important to know when to season a steak. Seasoning with salt before cooking it pulls out the moisture, resulting in a dry piece of meat. There is practical knowledge needed, and I have absorbed a lot of that practical knowledge by watching and studying the experts.”
“Anyone can season a steak and put it on the grill. But it's important to know when to season a steak.”
- Chef Shaiheem (Photographer: Tevin Mike / @whotmike)
His first memory of cooking stems from when he was 11-years-old. It was then that he started watching who he calls the Food Network OGs—Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, the Neely’s, Sunny Anderson, etc.
“I made some fire cheeseburger mac Hamburger Helper. I will put it up against anyone else in the world,” he proclaims. “I was in there sprinkling parsley on everything!”
‘There is nothing wrong with just being you’
And even though his life would be altered unexpectedly some years later, and he would find himself fending for himself alone, he sees that moment as his push.
“In the beginning, I did not want to be too out about my sexuality at all. For a while, I would only tell people when someone asked. But eventually, I got to the point where I stopped looking at my sexuality as a negative,” he said. “A lot of times, we allow ourselves to be placed into categories and defined by things that are small portions of who we are overall. We can become absorbed by those pieces if we allow it. How we see ourselves is what’s most important. If we see who we are and what we are as a negative, then that is what it will be,” Chef Shaiheem said.
“Or we can choose to see ourselves as just as normal as anyone or anything else. How I choose to be and choose to live is the norm for me. And hopefully, my life and story can be an example for others and they can realize that there is nothing wrong with just being you.”
Five years into being a chef and entrepreneur, Chef Shaiheem is focused on taking his business and his passion to the next level. Top of his list is becoming a full-time entrepreneur where his passion for cooking and content creation pays the bills. It would also be nice, he said, if he can get at least one week out of the month where he doesn’t have to work seven days straight.
He also plans to own his own chain of brick-and-mortar restaurants where the menu changes every week. He wants to get a few cookbooks into rotation at major stores like Walmart and Barnes and Nobles.
He is also excited about what the future holds in his personal life. This summer, he began a committed and exclusive relationship with someone he has known for five years.
“He challenges me and that’s a good thing. Relationships should bring out the best in us and I can already see how much better I am, thanks to him. I’m excited for what the future holds.”
- Chef Shaiheem
“He challenges me and that’s a good thing. Relationships should bring out the best in us and I can already see how much better I am, thanks to him,” he said. “I’m excited for what the future holds.”
And as the holidays are approaching quickly, Chef Shaiheem has just a few holiday tips.
“Early prep is smart. Buy things early—turkey, pie shells, whatever supplies you need. Don’t wait too late and be part of the mad rush like everyone else.”
But don’t start cooking too early either.
“For the sake of food safety, I suggest not cooking anything too far in advance. Nothing should be cooked, and in the fridge three or four days early.”
Mashaun D. Simon is an equity and inclusion advocate who centers his preaching, writing, and scholarship on cultural competency, identity, and equity.
He has written for NBC News and the Atlanta Daily World, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Black Enterprise, Bloomberg News, TheGrio.com, Ebony Magazine, BelieveOutLoud.com, and Essence Magazine. He has also created and managed cultural competency and affirmative action programming and training and in 2018, Mashaun organized and facilitated Kennesaw State University’s Faith and Sexuality Symposium on behalf of KSU’s Presidential Commission for LGBT Initiatives. In 2021, Mashaun was selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of the Rising Leaders Fellowship.
He holds a professional writing degree from Georgia Perimeter College, a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Kennesaw State University, and a Master of Divinity from Emory University's Candler School of Theology.