Sevarestt Allen, the chef and owner of Kitchen Savior, started learning how to cook at the age of 8.
“My grandmother is I say who kind of you know taught me the ropes,” Allen said. “(I would) kind of go in the kitchen with her and she’s like, ‘Sevarrest, watch the pots. Don’t let my food burn.’”
That was his introduction to cooking, but he did not always plan to pursue it as a career.
“So what happened was we were I was getting ready to get laid off from a job,” Allen said. “They did us a favor and told us, ‘Hey guys at this particular point we’re gonna lay you guys off.’ So, I was newly engaged and right around the time I was getting laid off was probably about a month or so before I was supposed to get married. So my wife, she goes, ‘You should look into going to culinary school.’ I’m like, ‘Well, why would I do that?’”
Despite his skepticism, Allen ended up attending Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando. Shortly after starting his education there, Allen also started working at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
“I got my job there and that’s where my legitimate culinary journey started because working there, you get to work with different chefs are from all over the world,” he said.
While working there, Allen helped the chefs develop a soul food menu. However, he said the moment he knew he had made it was when he was put in charge of a catering event for 1,100 guests.
“I remember the executive chef was like, ‘Hey, so that barbecue rub you make — we’re gonna keep that on hand,” Allen said. “That was when I was like, ‘Cool. I can do this.’”
Allen’s culinary career opened him up to a wide range of exciting opportunities, including cooking for musicians like Sir Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones,
Allen had made the acquaintance of Eric John, the owner of Untouchables Catering. Through John, Allen had worked preparing food for the Republican National Convention in 2012.
John reached out to Sevarrest again when the Stones were playing a show in Orlando.
“He legitimately calls and he was like, ‘Hey, I got the Rolling Stones,” Allen said.
The band ended up being so impressed with the food that they invited him to come along on a leg of the tour.
“I’ll tell you, my wife was pregnant at the time — like (she might give birth) at any moment. So, I was like ‘Hey, listen. Do you mind? I might be gone for a week,” Allen said.
She said yes and Allen hit the road with the Rolling Stones.
Eventually, the chef decided to strike out on his own. He started his own personal chef, meal prep and catering business, Kitchen Savior.
In the latest episode of Florida Foodie, Allen discusses how he came up with the name for his business and how it plays into his personal faith. He also talks about his work with the Parramore Kidz Zone and the one person he would like to cook for most.
Please follow our Florida Foodie hosts on social media. You can find Candace Campos on Twitter and Facebook. Lisa Bell is also on Facebook and Twitter and you can check out her children’s book, “Norman the Watchful Gnome.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Orange Blossom Candies & Cream embraces small-town charm
Willie’s Bar-B-Que brings people from all over to a small Florida town
Top Hat Catering helps feed thousands of seniors
The Fry Shoppe is a passion project decades in the making
Ghost Kitchen Orlando thrived during the pandemic and it's getting ready to expand
Hollerbach’s German Restaurant is a transformational force in Sanford
Plate Above Catering helps keep Second Harvest’s Culinary Training program free for students
La Maison Du Macaron brings a taste of Paris to Florida
Pine & Oak Tavern offers delicious food with a side of history
Central Florida roasters Barnie’s Coffee still going strong after 43 years
Big Taco aims to build a new Tex-Mex empire
Build My Burgers is ready to franchise, expand
Couple behind Zymarium Meadery sees success with brick-and-mortar location in Orlando
Central Florida woman went from stay-at-home mom to working cook, running her own cottage bakery
Love of anime inspires family-run Florida restaurant chain Soupa Saiyan
Crooked Can Brewing remains focused on Central Florida as it readies for big expansion
Pizza hobby becomes nostalgic business for SoDough Square’s owner
Owner of Dancing Empanada ready to sell business he started out of trunk of his car
Husband, wife behind Pho Wheels dish out Asian street food all across Central Florida
Owner of Winter Park’s Hen & Hog battles serious health issues while keeping his business open
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Into Thin Air
The Best Advice Show
Mismatch
Great Expectations
Gulliver’s Travels
The Eyes of Texas
Florida’s Fourth Estate