Chef Cliff Rome, who grew up on the south side of Chicago and navigated poverty on his way to becoming a chef for former President Barack Obama, came to Grand Rapids in February 2026 to speak to students of the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism at Ottawa Hills High School.
Hosted by Experience Grand Rapids through the Discover Tourism Initiative and in partnership with the Academies of Hospitality and Tourism, the visit was timed for Black History Month and aimed at inspiring high school students pursuing careers in food service and other hospitality sectors. Chef Rome visited all the Academies, sharing engaging stories about his culinary journey—stories that left students with a clear spark of inspiration.
“Food has afforded me incredible opportunities,” Rome told students as he recounted his journey from working in the family kitchen alongside his grandmother to cooking for one of the most powerful individuals on the planet.
While everyone’s path is different, Rome’s story demonstrates that the sky’s the limit for those who work hard and dedicate themselves to their craft. “I’m not here to sell you on something that’s magical or mystical,” he said. “It’s for real. It’s possible. Food has afforded me the opportunity to travel and do things that most people will never do in their lifetime.”
Chef Cliff Rome recounting his journey from working for chef Wolfgang Puck to studying culinary arts in Paris.
Photo by Courtesy of GR Public Schools
From a Hospital Kitchen to the Halls of Power
Rome started his food service career as a dishwasher in a hospital kitchen before he turned a one-day stint peeling potatoes for renowned chef Wolfgang Puck into a career with Puck’s Spago restaurant chain. He worked at Spago locations across the U.S., including Los Angeles, where he cooked for Hollywood’s biggest celebrities at the annual post-Oscar Awards Governor’s Ball hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
While working at Spago, Rome studied culinary arts in Paris. He later spent a year as a culinary consultant on a privately owned yacht while sailing the Caribbean. From 1998-2003, he was selected, along with master chefs Roger Verge, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and Todd English, to work at the Cannes International Film Festival’s American Pavilion in France.
In 2000, Rome founded Rome’s Joy Companies, which includes a brick-and-mortar restaurant, two grab-and-go concession locations at the University of Chicago, a full-service catering and event planning company, a chicken sausage manufacturer, a coworking space and historic event facility, a fine arts gallery and a hospitality training program, all located in the heart of Chicago's Bronzeville community, a historic hub for African American business and culture.
In 2024, Rome’s Joy Companies teamed with Bon Appétit Management Company to form BamJoy, a food service management company that is leading food service operations at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Chicago. The Center is a museum, library and education project commemorating the tenure of America’s first Black president, located in the neighborhood where President and Mrs. Obama began their journeys to public service.
Rome heads up a fine-dining restaurant, café and catering services at the Center, which opens to the public June 19, 2026 (aka Juneteenth). The celebration continues through June 21, with an open-house style schedule of live performances, family-friendly activities, art, storytelling and, of course, food.
Rome has been working alongside the former President to create the menu for the Center’s food service program. He says Obama’s tastes are “simple, nothing fancy” – which is just what you’d expect from a man he describes as “a super-regular” person. Accordingly, the venue will focus on affordable, local and community-driven food, including soul food staples such as peach cobbler, salmon croquettes, and shrimp and grits.
The Center aims to be an institution that inspires, empowers and connects people to bring change home. Food is as much a part of that strategy as historical exhibits and community forums. “There’s 77 different communities in Chicago,” Rome told students. “The idea is to bring individuals together (from all those communities) so that now we have this cultural, global kind of experience for each and every person that walks through those doors. You use food as a connecting point.”
Food is also a launching point, of course. It propelled Rome to the highest levels of the culinary profession, and it offers local high school students the opportunity to build an exciting career of their own.
Chef Cliff Rome emphasizing the importance of education to excel in the workforce.
Photo by Courtesy of GR Public Schools
Curiosity, Consistency, Community
Rome emphasized the importance of curiosity in crafting a food service career. “You have to be curious,” he said. “It’s important that you pay attention. It’s important that you learn. I was curious and I watched other people in the kitchen, in the other restaurants, just to see if something would be sparked.” Something was – a passion for the industry and the way food brings people together, in kitchens crafting meals and at tables enjoying them.
Rome also emphasized the importance of education. “Focus on your academics. If you’re doing well in school academically, you're probably going to excel in the workforce.” If you get “A's" in school, he explained, it means you hate to fail. “And in kitchens, you don't want to fail. You definitely don't want to burn things. You have to be more than consistent in doing what you love. And if you do a great job at it, magic happens.”
He went on to say that “Everything that you learn (in a hospitality program), you keep. You understand the mathematics of business. You understand the cultural divisions of business. You should know the terminology in business. And all these things are what we call transferable skills.” You can take them with you and apply them to any future career – not just to benefit yourself, but also to uplift your community.
“Part of our contribution (as businesspeople) is that we can circle money back within our communities or the communities in which we serve,” Rome said, encouraging students to invest in others as well as themselves.
That’s what he’s doing in his own hospitality training program and in appearances like the one in Grand Rapids. He told students that his goal was “for you guys to be able to pick up the keys that we left behind and open the doors so you can sit at the tables and you can change the tables.”
The discussion with Chef Rome was moderated by Experience Grand Rapids Vice President of Engagement & Inclusion Jordoun Eatman and followed by a Q&A session with students, who were clearly impressed and inspired by what they heard. Rome’s story demonstrated that passion, discipline, curiosity, and consistency can boost anyone to the top of their profession.
The Academies of Hospitality & Tourism in Grand Rapids/Kent County combine classroom instruction and experiential hands-on learning to introduce high school students to the vast array of professional opportunities in these fast-growing fields.