Meet Andrew Bernadine | Personal & Private Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Bernadine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Taking risks is a necessary part of growth. It demands something of you that will ultimately make you better wiser, and stronger. Becoming a more in tune, decision maker along the journey. Taking a risk defines the leap-start of my career, choosing the pursuit of my own culinary passions, over the wholesome vision my family had for me. But the goal is always worth the risk. I know that my success and my happiness, is all they’ve ever really wanted for me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
With over a decade of experience in the restaurant industry as a stand out line cook, I’ve elevated my culinary and entrepreneurial experience, touring the industry of cuisines, and business models, studying to create my own personal/private chef business with the standards and quality of fine dining. I’m so proud of the pace of my company’s growth since founding in 2020. From selling plates and meal prep to my small network, to being the personal chef to 21 Savage, Cooks With Passion is my truth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I suggest just going outside! Nature is really relaxing for me, and GA has some beautiful parks, like Brook Run in Sandy Springs, and of course Piedmont Park throws lots of events that incorporate food trucks. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Howell Mill is one of my go to spots when my girlfriend is craving non-dairy chocolate.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First I’d like to thank my mother, Carol Brown. As a kid, you need someone to see your light, and she saw it in me. She listened to my dreams and fed them, exposing me to culture, and education, always pushing me to elevate my mind about my interests, and my work ethic. She developed her own relationship with food, in support of my passions. She shared my dream with me.

My grandmother, Evelyn Brown, taught me the hustle. She was well known in NY for being a pillar. She gave cooking an identity for me. She showed me how to heal communities with food, and she left an impact on NY because of who she was and how she shared her heart.

My girlfriend, Aja Kahti, challenges me. She saw something in me from when we first met, and she continues to push me to be, and do everything I am capable of. She gives me the fuel that keeps me going along the journey.

And my mentor Leroy Neely, watching him do what I do all these years, I have the utmost respect for his journey. He came up from the pit, and took himself so far, as a patriarch for his family, and an extension of mine, inspiring me to be self motivated, reliable, and teaching me a school of life approach to working as a chef.

Website: www.cookswithpassion.io

Instagram: @cookswithpassion

Image Credits
Matt Watkins