Bobby Anderson knows about 15 minutes of fame. He’s trying to use his to make life better for young people who need proof that all things are possible.
Anderson grew up on the streets of Niagara Falls. He had a dark-edged youth and a few run-ins with the law. He’s a recovering alcoholic. And he achieved national fame recently as a favorite contestant on a cooking show called“Hell’s Kitchen.”
The show, which is a little like watching a wild-eyed marine drill sergeant lead a group of recruits through a kitchen obstacle course, set Anderson up for notoriety starting with the first episode in last year’s series.
The 15 contestants had just met and were being driven to Hell’s Kitchen, where the show takes place, when Anderson decided to tell the others exactly who he was. “I’m the black Gordon Ramsay,” he said boldly.
Little did he know the show’s host, world class chef Gordon Ramsay, was in disguise and sitting among the contestants. From the start of the series Ramsay used that boast to keep the Niagara Falls native on his toes, as Ramsay elevated bad language and verbal abuse to new levels on the bleep-filled show. Ramsay, however, is actually a really nice guy, according to Anderson.
“It’s nothing personal in that kitchen,” he said. “He’s an amazing guy ... You would never know this guy grossed $130 million last year. He’s the kind of guy you would go to war for.”
Ultimately, Bobby was one of five chefs left in the contest before he was eliminated. His attitude about loosing a head chef job at one of Ramsay’s world class restaurants? Well, the experience humbled him, he said, but not in the way that some might think.
Anderson said he has turned down high paying job offers from California since the show ended and instead wants to stay in his Niagara Falls community and “serve.”
“The experience changed my life,” he said. “It humbled me. It taught me that the better you are with your craft, the more humble you become.”
He has a dream of using his positive notoriety to help area children and especially young men, using his unexpected fame to prove that amazing things can happen when a person follows his dreams.
Recently, at a holiday party at the Boys and Girls Club on 17th Street, he demonstrated his skills at both cooking and inspirational speaking to a crowded room of children and adults. On the menu was pan- fried tortillas with a concoction of chicken and pineapple salsa. Many pairs of young eyes were fixed on the tall, white coated chef as he told his story and punctuated it with a little burst of flame from the portable burner, some sizzle from the frying tortillas and snaps from the pop rock candy he used to garnish each chip.
“I came from the streets,” he told them. “I’m not a stranger to the lows but once I got a taste of the bars, that was enough for me. Cooking kind of saved my life.”
He didn’t give the kids the details of his run-ins with the law, but said afterwards there was some hubcap theft, and some other youthful indiscretions involving drugs and alcohol.
From there to a variety of restaurant jobs and eventually the selection for “Hell’s Kitchen,” a Fox TV show. Since then job offers are coming in from high-rent restaurants as far away as California. “I never thought I’d be in a position to turn down 70 and 80 thousand-a- year jobs,” he said.
His roots in Niagara Falls run deep. He is currently living in North Buffalo but grew up on 39th Street. Recalling all those who helped him on his rise he ticks of the names of teachers and coaches who helped to change his path.
He still remembers being 9-years-old and the kindness of a football coach who picked him up and drove him to the year end banquet with the coach’s daughters and wife. “I’ll never forget that,” he said. Anderson is extremely proud of his twin sons, Jabrel and Jamar, 18, who are graduating this year from Niagara Falls High School. He meet his wife of six years, Anne, at the Seneca Niagara Casino where they met when he was a chef there. He has worked in many other prestigious area restaurants, including Shanghai Red’s, Harry’s, EB Greens, Wegman’s and most as head chef at Hyde Park Steakhouse at the Walden Galleria.
“I resigned a high paying job to start my own business and that means zero income, but I’m happy. I’m at peace,” he said.
Anderson has started an educational consulting company. He has been giving demonstrations and speeches at jails and Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. His presentations on leadership are also available to corporations and non-profits, but it is the “at risk” population he really hopes to influence. Whether that means a training facility that doubles as a restaurant or working with the area schools, he is not yet sure.
“It ll be fine with me if I never own a restaurant,” he said. “I need to give back in order to keep the joy inside of me.
To the city of his birth, he says: “Use me. Please use me while I’m here and keep me in this area.”
Watching his interaction with the children at the club, it is clear Anderson has the tools to pursue his dream if he chooses.
“That was great,” said Michael Hamilton, the director of operations at the Boys and Girls Club as Anderson closed down his little mobile kitchen. “He’s a great guy. I hope he can be an inspiration to our children.”
As for Anderson, he is choosing to let the path unfold in front of him and trying not to worry to much about where it leads. “It’s almost like I’m spiritually guided,” he said. “I’m standing out of my own way this time, and that’s what keeps me at peace. This is something way bigger than me and that’s the reason I’m not worrying.”