Desmond Robinson is amazed by the culinary advancements at this alma mater.
A 2007 University of Memphis graduate, Robinson was an aspiring chef during his time at the University. However, as a student, the UofM did not have any options for him to pursue his passion. The same cannot be said for current or future generations of Tigers hoping to follow in his footsteps.
Today, Robinson is known professionally as Chef D.Arthur — an accomplished chef with clientele and projects that have him regularly traveling the world. He started his own catering company, has served as a personal chef for multiple professional basketball players and recently appeared on “Chopped,” the Food Network’s popular competition cooking show.
Like Robinson, culinary education at the UofM has come a long way in the past 15 years.
The University opened the Kemmons Wilson Culinary Institute’s 32,000-square foot training
facility in 2019 and now offers a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in culinary
arts. Last February, Robinson taught a virtual cooking class — “Cooking It Up with
Chef D.Arthur” — hosted by the Culinary Institute and the Office of Multicultural
Affairs as part of Black History Month.
“If we had a culinary program when I was a student, there is no doubt I would have been in it,” Robinson said. “It was such an honor to do an event with them for Black History Month. To be able to say, ‘My school has a culinary program now and they want me to come be a part of it,’ was really cool.”
Robinson was equally in awe of the state-of-the-art Tiger Food Lab teaching and demonstration kitchen inside the new R. Brad Martin Student Wellness Center.
“Wow, I can’t believe all of this is here now,” said Robinson as he explored the space inside the UofM’s newest facility. “It’s like a different school than when I was here.”
Though not able to pursue his culinary passion as a student, Robinson made the most of his time at the UofM. He was named Mr. UofM 2007 and was president of the Black Student Association and Alpha Phi Alpha chapter.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a minor in African American Studies, Robinson briefly attended culinary school at the Art Institute of Atlanta. With the cost of attendance being his primary obstacle, he left for graduate school at Louisiana State University and earned a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration.
Ready to begin a career in student affairs, Robinson applied for jobs all over the country. The Memphis native landed right back at the UofM as a retention counselor for TRIO Student Support Services, a set of programs that support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in pursuit of a college degree.
Even with a graduate degree and a clear career path, the desire to pursue his dream profession never left. He began testing recipes in his free time and gained valuable experience as a meal prep consultant.
Robinson’s next step was starting a full-service catering company — D.Arthur’s Catering. That’s when the connections he made at the UofM, as a student and an employee, helped create the foundation for his now thriving career.
“Almost all of my initial clients were people I knew from the University of Memphis or people who knew someone I knew from that time,” Robinson said. “Those were the people that knew what my goals and dreams were and, even though I maybe didn’t know exactly what I was doing yet, they wanted to be my first supporters.”
D.Arthur’s Catering became well known for putting its unique touch on comfort dishes,
including collard green eggrolls, chicken lasagna cupcakes and buffalo chicken stuffed
potatoes.
“I got some cheap business cards and passed them out at an event where there were maybe 30 or 40 people,” Robinson said. “From that, I got four or five phone calls to do other events, which turns into four or five more. It happened at such a rapid rate I knew I could really do it for a living.”
Robinson would soon leave behind his job at the UofM and another as a training coordinator at Regional One Health to devote all his time and energy to his growing business. It wasn’t long before his next major opportunity would present itself. An email from a prospective client asked if he could spend the summer as the personal chef for her family.
“I told her my price and she said, ‘OK, I will pay it right now for the whole summer,’ ” Robinson said.
It wasn’t until he shared the news with a friend that he realized he would be working for the family of Thaddeus Young, an NBA veteran who was playing for the Brooklyn Nets at the time and living in Memphis during the offseason.
“I would have shown up to their house the first day having no idea I’m working for a professional athlete,” Robinson said.
He expected to refer the family to a chef in New York City once the NBA season began. By the end of the summer, he was the family’s choice to move with them. He was excited and hopeful while trying to assure himself this bold step was the best move for his career.
Robinson moved to Brooklyn while keeping his catering company in Memphis operational. He served as the full-time personal chef for the Young family for two years, an experience that has helped open many doors. In addition to Young, Robinson has served as a chef for NBA players Jeff Green and Skal Labissière. He’s also cooked for Anita Baker and Danny Glover.
“When I get calls now, it is a lot easier to get business when I can say this is who I have worked for,” Robinson said. “A lot of my work is still rooted in Memphis, but I am pretty much wherever I need to be.”
As for “Chopped,” he had to build up the confidence to make his appearance on the made-for-TV competition. Representatives for the show reached out to him via Instagram. His virtual interview went extremely well, but the time period to expect an offer came and went. Robinson had mostly forgotten about the show until he opened an email to find “Chopped: Congratulations!” a month after the expected deadline.
“I had always avoided applying for any of those shows myself, primarily because I am a self-taught chef,” Robinson said. “There was some insecurity around getting on a large platform like that and not performing well. But I knew I had to do it. If not for me, then for my family and the people that had supported me.”
Robinson went into the show with two goals — don’t get eliminated first and avoid
cutting himself. Ingredients are unknown to the competitors until just before the
competition beings. His episode had a bison theme, which he was able to navigate and
advance to the second round by treating the meat similar to how he would cook beef.
“Once you’re there and you look around at the cameras, the timer, the food, you realize it’s very real and it’s a chance to prove yourself,” Robinson said. “I just tried to have fun with it. By the second round, all my anxiety was gone. It was a great experience.”
Between cooking for professional athletes and appearing on the Food Network, Robinson has several other projects in the works.
He is currently in the process of creating a visual cookbook, virtually releasing a chapter at a time, each with a different theme. Eventually, he plans to have a hard-copy book available.
Robinson founded an organization called Friendsgiving, an annual traveling holiday brunch fundraiser, in 2018. The event brings a unique brunch experience to different locations throughout November and December with plans to potentially be in Atlanta, Houston, Memphis and New York this year.
He would also love to continue building on the memories and relationships he has with his alma mater.
“I was always very supported at the University of Memphis, both as a student and as a professional,” Robinson said. “This place is such a big and vital part of my journey. It has been, and always will be, very special to me.”