Leadership, discipline, excellence and family. These have been the cornerstones of Chef Ben Jenkins’ life. And they have served him well.
The lessons learned early in life from his grandmother, who raised him, would continue to be developed in each stage of his life and career.
“We had to ask permission to do anything, and it was always, ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’,” he said. Chef Ben fondly remembers having to give speeches in church on special occasions. “I came home with a speech, and I’ll never forget this. My grandmother looked at it and said it was too short. So she called (the church) and now all of a sudden I have this two-page speech that I have to memorize in a week. I did pretty good with it and got almost to the end, and she stood in front of the whole church and told me, ‘Stand up straight, stick your chest out, speak like you’re somebody, and start over.’ I was so embarrassed that I had to do it again, but I got through it.”
Challenge is nothing new for Chef Ben, who wrestled in high school and joined the Marine Corps after graduation. A veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, he wears his Eagle, Globe and Anchor with pride. He also ran a successful nonprofit organization, The Lowcountry Devil Dogs, which gave him the opportunity to coach eight Beaufort youth in wrestling from elementary through high school. These same kids became six State Champions and two State Runners-up, and three went on to wrestle competitively in college, where two became All-Americans.
As the new Executive Chef at Brays Island, Ben brings 30 years of experience and continues to strive for more, both for himself and for those around him.
“It’s good to be a leader,” said Chef Ben, who served in the Marine Corps as a young man. His time in the military helped to develop the discipline and leadership skills that his loving grandmother had instilled in him as a child. “I love being a leader, and I love making a difference. I love to evaluate, especially myself. I’m pretty hard on myself. What can I do to make the flow better? Or what is it going to take to uplift this program and the people on the team.”
After being honorably discharged from the Marines, he pursued a Culinary Arts degree at Johnson & Whales University, and is currently working to further his education by earning his Chef de Cuisine certification. He is not only working toward his own certification, but he also wants to see success and growth for his whole staff.
“My next step is to become certified, and then try to work on getting my staff certified,” he said, recalling that he developed this philosophy after walking into an Orlando restaurant many years ago and noticing the awards earned by not only the Executive Chef but also by his whole team. “They were all certified, and I thought, wow, we should get a really good meal here. So being classically trained is important to me.”
Chef Ben spent 23 years on the culinary team at Chelsea Plantation, while also working seasonally for places including the Jupiter Beach Resort and the 21 Federal in Nantucket, and has been at Brays for the last six years, honing his skills in the kitchen, creating menus and testing recipes. He sees his new role as doing whatever it takes to make things run smoothly for both the front of the house and the back of the house, and, most importantly, to keep the Brays Island family happy. This might be something as simple as ensuring a grilled cheese is prepared well or it might mean preparing diverse menus for many palettes.
“I enjoy cooking a lot of game and seafood, and some owners may want to see more game on the menu, but some may want more fancy, fine dining options, while others may want more homely, comfort foods. So I look at it like a puzzle to try to please everyone. At the end of the day, our job is to keep the owners happy. That’s why we’re here.”