Interview by: Rekkai Steed
There are some things that go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Church folks and food. Oh, I get it. You don’t believe me. Go to any restaurant, especially on Bardstown Road, after church on Sunday, after Bible Study or choir practice and see if you don’t find an establishment full of different saints and aints of different sizes, ethnicities and hunger levels.
One establishment that the good people of Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center would frequent after any of the above named services would be Nirvana located on Bardstown Road. It just so happened that one of Kingdom’s own, Austin Harris - The Box Chef was the owner of the
Nirvana Bar Eats. He and his partner, Davonte Bolden completely took over the kitchen of Nirvana and then performed magic, or should I say, these brothers’ anointed hands performed minor miracles in the food industry that led to many a “Hallelujah” and “Thank You Jesus” as well as what we, in the Black community, refer to as the “itis” (when you immediately get sleepy after indulging in a delicious meal). After serving the Louisville community for a good while, the Box Chef decided to move on and start a new adventure with his partner, Chef Darnell Ferguson, founder and owner of Super Chef’s Restaurant.
1) Who are you?
I am Austin Harris. A lot of people call me “Box Chef”. I got that name from one of my mentors. One day I was doing a catering that required a lot of prep. So I came into the restaurant with 50 boxes. And they teased me, so I just decided to say you know what, your new name is the Box, so I stuck with it.
2) What do you specialize in?
I specialize in many different cuisines. One thing that I enjoy doing a lot is taking ready to eat products and making them my own. Further down the line in my career, I hope to partner with a mass production company on several of their products to provide something extremely great for the consumer. Right now we are trying to finalize a deal with Red Hots hot sauce. The very popular Louisville wing sauce that I created called “Tya’s Attitude” has a Red Hots base. I would love to have that sauce In mass production. Nothing will excite me more than being able to walk into your local grocery store and see it on the shelf.
3) How did your partnership with Darnell and Davonte come about for Nirvana?
So our partnership in Nirvana started in several different directions but it all came back around in the same circle. All three of us wanted to do a pop up dinner concept somewhere that would tap into a different demographic of individuals than what we are used to. However, We had no desire to do the pop up at Superchefs. I will explain in a moment. Imagine Nirvanas bar menu in Superchefs (at night). It would be a form of SuperChefs dinner all over again. In theory, it would have been a bad marketing strategy. Not to mention it probably would have taken out the wow factor Since the “wow” would already be expected. Furthermore, we stopped selling dinner at the Louisville Superchefs location for a reason. Superchefs is a breakfast and lunch restaurant. Selling dinner makes the brand confusing.
Around this time I was also looking into getting my restaurant consultant company off the ground. That’s when the owners or Nirvana reached out to us looking for exactly what we wanted to sell. They wanted someone to bring some creativity (Chef Darnell), networking (Chef Devonte), and operational structure to the location. In return they were willing to give up restaurant equity, ownership, and for culinary control over the property. So we rebranded to “Nirvana Bar & Eats.” The opportunity was perfect. So we did it, and it was good. We all quadrupled our investments in less than 90 days.
4) After such a successful run with Nirvana Bar Eats, why the change?
Several things lead to the transition. As I’m sure you know Chef Darnell has opened five different restaurants since the grand opening of Nirvana, and will open five more in the next 12 months. Truth is, he has so many other big fish that he just could not dedicate consistent time to such a small operation. As far as my departure, I consider myself huge part of the SuperChef brand. I was blessed to become an owner/partner in Superchefs. In the partnership consisted of a partnership in the restaurants and the catering. In theory, Chef Darnell became an
owner/partner of my catering company, and I became an owner of the restaurants. This partnership made sense for both of us. In this transition I became head of operations over all the experience/Superchefs catering events. Business is doing extremely well. We were blessed to get contracts catering for Louisville sports athletics, BB&T bank, and Hilliards Lyons to name a few. This transitioned me to being in a similar boat as Chef Darnell. I had to make a decision. So in early 2019 I sold all of my percentage in Nirvana. I did not make this public for several reasons. One, I was afraid that the following I had from Nirvana would stop supporting due to my transition. And secondly, I’m a very private person, LOL. I only like to share information that needs to be shared. Lastly, Chef Devante was blessed with the phenomenal opportunity in Atlanta Georgia. He And Chef Darnell did a partnership with a black lounge marketing group. They did a partnership together in a lounge called Traffik. According to Wikipedia, this is one of the hottest spots in the city. In my opinion, Traffik had more success than anybody could have imagined. And at that moment Chef Javon Tay was forced to make a decision as well. We all chose growth over the comfort zone. But those decisions were not easy and possibly even avoidable. But business partnerships are very similar to marriages. All individuals have to be equally yoked. If they are not, eventually the relationship will crumble and individuals will have to part ways. So to sum things up and answer your question, Nirvana ran its course.
5) What do you think sets your food apart from other chefs?
What sets my food apart from other chefs is my aggressive cooking style. I enjoy fusing cuisines in flavors that traditionally should never be mixed together. And by the grace of God, it works!
6) What can you tell us about your new venture?
One thing I can say about my new venture is it’s going to be pretty incredible. I’m at a point in my life where I am learning, the skies the limit. Everything is about networking and opportunities in prayer. I am starting to believe and see that God is taking me to some pretty incredible places. And I’m OK with the fact that, in order to be successful, you have to get used to being uncomfortable, and I’m very uncomfortable.
7) What can we expect from "Catering The Experience"?
You can expect “Catering The Experience” to go public about the many partnerships God has allowed the company to experience. As of now the team is working on some final trademarks, contractual agreements, and non-competes to be finalized. Then the world will see God’s light shine.
8) How can WE taste this food?
All of my food is just a phone call away or email away. It doesn’t matter if it’s small, medium or large there is nothing that we cannot do.
9) Any parting words?
2020 is going to be a record breaking year. A complete overflow of God’ s glory.
This experience is NOT one to take lightly. The Box Chef, Mr. Harris, is a fantastic cook and puts his entire heart into whatever endeavors he takes up. Some people do things for money. Some do them for fame. Some do them for clout. Dare I say, Mr. Harris does them to glorify God and put a smile on your face, not to mention give you a full stomach and put an “Amen” in your soul.
If you are ever fortunate enough to experience “Catering The Experience”, soon to be called "The Super Experience (to reflect the partnership between Chef Austin Harris and Chef Darnell Ferguson) — his new venture where he caters for high-profile events— do not miss it. It will be a regret. And who wants to live a life with any regrets in it?
If you want to get in touch with “The Box Chef”, here is his information:
CATERING THE EXPERIENCE LLC/SUPERCHEFS
BY AUSTIN HARRIS
"I SERVE THE EXPERIENCE"
P: 314-753-6870 “CALL” or “TEXT”
Serving All Of Your Catering Needs
Thank You For Choosing The Experience
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