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Welcome! And thank you for visiting Keith Lorren online. As many of you who are web surfers have come to realize, a lot of blogs seem to be lacking a specific bite for their “ food for thought.”
This is not the case here. This blog is a testament to patience, faith, and perseverance, and through which the world becomes your veritable oyster. Through the hard lesson of determination, we learn how to appreciate that good work creates lasting results. If you live your life cutting against the grain you get the privilege of enriching your’s and other people’s days with excitement. How rewarding is that? I invite you to remember the simple, yet profound lesson from this blog: Follow your bliss.
Sharing Ideas with Great Chefs around the world (Roppongi Hills, Japan)
It’s simply astounding to look back on all I’ve accomplished in less than a quarter of a century. I’ve held a large array of careers spanning the globe: from computer programmer to motivational speaker, teacher, and even as a hospital garment manufacturer. As enriching as the lessons were from these careers, I wanted more! Nothing could hold my attention for long, and the long hours were draining. Why could this be? I realized I was so glum because I wasn’t following my passion. It goes to show that if you’re not doing what you want to do everyday of your life, no matter the money or accolades you receive, you’re not truly living, and not truly happy. It was at this point I decided to bring joy to others through my culinary talents. People the world over can attest: Keith Lorren invented cooking!
When you discover you have natural talent in a field at a very young age, much like I did, and you build upon it, honing your craft, fine tuning your product, there’s no limits to what you can achieve. When I was five years old I baked my first cookie, experimenting with ingredients in my mother’s pantry as she slept. By the age of twelve, I had perfected my cake baking skills, and three years later, at the age of fifteen, I was supplying three restaurants and a steady clientele with my desserts. It was also at this point in my life that I began this cookbook (more to come on this later).
My desserts were in such high demand I was never able to supply enough. There would be lines of people, young and old, waiting to purchase my desserts. People would fight tooth and nail to get the last ones. I remember vividly one day a pregnant woman came into my Uncle’s store with a craving, and upon hearing we had just sold our last cake cursed out all of the managers before storming out. I made the wise decision to duck for cover in the bathroom when I heard all the commotion.
Where have I gone from these extraordinary beginnings? Well, I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count! I’ve had the grand blessing of cooking for thousands of people all over the world. I’ve cooked for people in Japan, China, Greece, UAE, even in countries in South America. The kicker: everywhere I’ve traveled to someone has asked me to open up a restaurant with them. For instance, when I was in Japan in 2006 what I thought was just going to be a short visit turned into a month long culinary adventure. I met and cooked with hundreds of people from Osaka to Tokyo. Everyone fell in love with my cooking, and the business men I met wanted me to be their chef.
Through personal growth, networking, and prayer, I began managing a popular restaurant in South Beach, Miami called Sheba’s Ethiopian restaurant. It was such a riveting experience to be able to serve delicious food to joyful customers. I fell back in love with my passion. People would travel from the four corners of the globe just to dine on my culinary delights and experience true southern hospitality.
In 2009 I left America for Dubai, UAE. I spent a majority of my time cooking and being propositioned to open restaurants (people were literally licking their plates clean). I realized the best way for me to reach out to the hundreds of thousands of people who are craving my recipes was through social media. I would share my love of cooking with the world through my cook books, special seasoning blends and cooking videos.
Once I left Dubai,I went to intern with the great Chef Matthew Ona in Shanghai, China. Under his direction I applied to and was accepted at the Culinary Institue of America, the world’s premier culinary college, in Hyde Park, NY. Where I am currently perfecting my talents.
What message can I leave you with as you begin your culinary journey through my blog? The key to happiness is neither money nor prestige, it’s doing what you love the most, and sharing that love with other people.
This blog is dedicated to all of the loving people who taught me what real cooking is. Shout outs to my grandparents, Gary and James Dixon, Phil Pottinger, Ferrell Moore, Mr. Burden, my Caribbean Chef and my great grand father Gene Johnson, who was the first African American to open a restaurant in America. His restaurant, Gene Johnson’s Oyster Shack, served the likes of Lucille Ball, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and the list goes on. He is definitely an inspiration and I am proud to be following in his footsteps.
This series of video blogs is a compilation of all the desserts and delicious ethnic foods that have made me an international favorite. Enjoy, but be warned: once you start making these recipes, people with begin to believe that YOU invented cooking. www.keithlorren.com
