The sounds and smells of a home kitchen are unlike anything else. There’s something comforting in the gentle clack of a whisk beating against a well-loved wooden bowl or the clinking of hand-me-down Pyrex jostling in a stacked pile. They are the sounds of childhood, spending time in the kitchen with family and cooking food to be shared.
Making food for someone is, in and of itself, an act of love that often comes with deeply ingrained family history mixed in with the ingredients — lending unique flavors to each dish.
Seguin-born chef Jay Wright fell in love with the kitchen as a child.
“I started at an early age,” he said. “I was told I was cooking at nine and 10, not even knowing what I was doing, but going into my mom’s kitchen and terrorizing her pantry, mixing stuff up. I’m the oldest sibling, so I was always involved in the kitchen and curious about what my parents were doing. Also, being raised by my grandparents, who are very big cooks and big gardeners, it was something I was always around.”
Jay grew up in Seguin and attended Seguin High School, where he has many fond memories. He attended Texas A&M Kingsville but in 2020 packed his bags and moved to San Diego, California, in pursuit of his dream.
While Texas is currently experiencing an influx of new residents moving to the Lone Star State from California, bringing with them a west-coast mentality, Jay too, experienced a bit of culture shock when he first moved.
“Coming out here was a shocker for me, actually working in smaller kitchens and catering,” Jay said. “When I left Texas, I was working for Facebook. So that gave me a boost in my career, like the knowledge of working on my craft. Once I got to California, I hit the ground running. I had to get out there and find out what my next step was going to be and find out where my path was going to lead.”
That next step was launching his business in a market saturated with talented cooks and highly competitive commercial kitchens.
“I don’t exactly own a restaurant; I have my own personal chef private business,” he said. “I started it right after the pandemic. Coming from the South to the West was a big culture change and a lot to adjust to –– the lifestyle and also in my career too, there’s a lot more opportunity there — a lot more room for growth. Of course, there’s competition here, but you just more or less focus on yourself and grinding to see what kind of potential you have.”
Jay describes his food as heavily influenced by his southern charm, with dishes like barbeque inspiring his cooking along with hickory and pecan smoked foods like roasted beans. But pushing beyond his comfort zone is taking his cooking to new levels. He has recently been experimenting with fresh-caught fish and Mediterranean and Asian elements, from fresh vegetables to garlic noodles and Korean-fried chicken.
With food, the potential is primarily tied to the chef’s creativity. Trying to meld new flavors together and create infused cooking are a huge trend in today’s culinary world, partly due to the popularity of food shows and entertainment. Jay took part in the entertainment aspect of being a modern-day chef when he recently appeared on the Food Network’s Supermarket Stakeout.
“It’s been a great experience,” he said.” I’m very humble and blessed to have had the chance. I was a little boy watching this at a younger age being all curious and, I would say, excited about watching it and being thrilled. And feeling all the excitement from the people competing. Then full circle around when I figured out my path and who I wanted to be. It all made sense that that was something that it would lead to and one of my goals. It was great.”
Jay has big business goals in mind and hopes to appear on TV again soon. In the meantime, he has projects in place to expand the catering aspects of his business and even dip his toes into branded merchandise. Though food is his business, family is always on his mind with personal goals to work toward as well.
“Some personal goals for us is I have a husband, and we want to expand our family,” Jay said. “So, adoption is something we’re trying to start and balance with business and personal goals. So, we have our hands full here. I’m a very big believer in the village –– it takes a village to raise someone. You know, like a recipe. It’s been passed on from my grandparents to my parents, so now it’s me. As generations come and go, we want to leave a legacy, so I want to have kids, and when they happen, they’ll definitely be in the kitchen with me.”
The holidays are one of Jay’s favorite times, and he’ll soon be heading back home to Seguin to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. To him, gathering around one big table with everybody dressed up is an experience he looks forward to no matter how stressful the preparation or holiday travel.
However, his family has big plans that might add some holiday drama to the menu this year.
“My big mama, which is my mother’s mother, has a recipe from her mother that has been passed on,” Jay said. “It’s a cornbread dressing and it’s to die for, and it’s something with a lot of steps and a lot of ingredients to make this dish so good. So, she passes it along, and actually this Thanksgiving, we are competing and betting to see who’s going to have the best. So big mama, our matriarch, knows no one can beat her because she has the original recipe, but my mother knows she had someone who taught her, and she’s teaching someone else, so she thinks she has the best. And then, of course, I’m the professional chef, and it’s been passed on to me, so I feel like I know I’m going to win.”
As aromas fill the house on Thanksgiving, Jay and his family will compete, but it will all be good-natured fun. And that is what the holiday is truly all about especially when in the kitchen –– spending time with loved ones and honoring the traditions you hold dear, whether that is getting together to cook or just enjoying the flavors of your unique family history.
