Flavor & Finance: Buffalo’s “Chef Darian” Helps Kick Off 2024-25 JPS School Year (original) (raw)

In Chef Darian Bryan’s eyes, mindset is everything.

Bryan is executive chef and owner of The Plating Society and Bratts Hill by Chef Darian in Buffalo. Known for his flare — has been featured on Food Network, ESPN, and CBS among others and he is also notably the private chef to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and other members of the team.

But the well-known — and well-dressed — Buffalo-based restaurateur, born and raised in Jamaica, doesn’t view himself as simply a chef — he believes he’s changing lives through good meals.

“You don’t have to be a professional athlete or rapper or a singer to make it in life,” Bryan said. “As a chef, I’m doing great things just by cooking food and changing lives through food.”

Bryan helped share that message during a kick-off event for over 200 Jamestown Public Schools student athletes, musicians, council, and Honor Society members with an Aug. 21 presentation at Jefferson Middle School on “Flavor & Finance” made possible by the New York State Education Department’s My Brother’s Keeper Challenge grant.

“My purpose here is to show kids that you can be whatever you want if you work hard and dedicate yourself to it,” he said. “When I came here from Jamaica, I knew I wanted to be a chef, so I put my all into it; practiced night and day, reading books, watching videos, and never straying from anything else. I wanted to be a chef: so I became a chef.”

Introducing and hosting a question-and-answer session with Bryan was longtime friend Chris Brown, radio voice of the Buffalo Bills and co-host of “One Bills Live” on WGR and MSG.

“He’s a self-made man,” Brown said of Bryan “He used his passion to make something of his life. That’s a good lesson for the kids here in Jamestown — maybe they don’t come from tremendous means either. A lot of us come from less than what we end up with in our life if we pursue our passions and let them push us to do amazing things. I think Chef Darian is an amazing example of that.”

Bryan spoke about the importance of managing your money wisely and the luxuries that come from doing so — his signature fedora, custom suit, and tricked-out pickup truck serving as visual examples. He also stressed the importance of networking, sharing the story of an executive chef of a restaurant that he worked at who saw his potential and work ethic and offered to help him.

“He bought me my first knife set that I could’ve never afforded at the time,” Bryan said. “He did it because he saw how hard I worked.”

“Hard work is rewarded,” Brown added. “It leads to opportunity. When an opportunity isn’t there sitting right in front of you, sometimes talking to the right people will create opportunities for you. You may not have all the money you need to advance your career, but sometimes the connections that you make with people can get you to that place.”

That place has often included Allen’s private residence — the night before his Jamestown appearance, Bryan helped prepare a Wagyu steak with lobster and a fried goat cheese salad for Buffalo’s beloved quarterback.

“He tore it apart,” Bryan said with a laugh. “Josh is a steak guy, but he’s a foodie: he loves good food and appreciates good food and I really appreciate that about him. What you see is what you get: he’s a genuine guy.”

Following Bryan’s presentation, students and their coaches and directors had the chance to enjoy one of “Chef’s” favorite recipes: rasta pasta with Jamaican jerk chicken.prepared by the JPS Food Service Department, bringing a little taste of Jamaica to Jamestown.

“It’s jerk alfredo sauce, bell peppers, scallion, penne pasta and some jerk chicken on top,” Bryan said. “It’s something different. It has the Jamaican flare to it and it’s a number one seller at (Bratt’s Hill). People love it — it makes you feel like you’re in Jamaica.”

Bryan stopped into the Jefferson cafeteria to take a look at the meal with food service director Scott Johnson and cook managers Joe Walker and Dave Carlson.

“With the new school year starting, this was a great way to get some positive momentum as we start the 2024-25 school year,” said Tom Langworthy, Jamestown High School assistant principal and varsity football coach, whose team presented Bryan with a signed football from the team.

“This was a great way for us to hear somebody else’s story and how they achieved success,” Langworthy added. “Success can be achieved in a lot of different ways, but Chef Darian had a very unique path to success, but really came from nothing and was able to be a self-made man and that’s the message I’d like our students and student athletes to take away from tonight’s speech.”

“I just wanted to show these kids that it’s possible to be whatever you want,” Bryan said. “Just stay focused. It’s not about the credit all the time. It’s about determination, repetition, building up a community of people around you who can help and support your vision.”