Chef and Restaurant Owner speaks to Hyde Park High School students

Hyde Park Academy High School students interested in the Culinary Arts had Chef Darnell Reed, owner of Luella’s Southern Kitchen, speak to them as part of the Obama Foundation Future Series. Photo courtesy of Obama Foundation.
Hyde Park Academy High School students interested in the Culinary Arts had Chef Darnell Reed, owner of Luella’s Southern Kitchen, speak to them as part of the Obama Foundation Future Series. Photo courtesy of Obama Foundation.

Chef and Restaurant Owner speaks to
Hyde Park High School students

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Chef Darnell Reed, owner of Luella’s Southern Kitchen, remembers being a student at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.  He remembers having guest speakers who were in the culinary arts come to speak to him and his classmates. At the end of February, he paid it forward by speaking with students from Hyde Park Academy High School as part of the Obama Foundation Future Series.

“I thought this would be a good way to give back and give back in the way I was taught as well. I had people speak to me so I wanted to actually make sure I was doing the same thing for the next generation, so they could see representation of people in the food industry who had a background similar to theirs,” Reed said.

The Future Series is a collaboration between the Hyde Park Academy High School and the Obama Foundation. It began in 2022, after First Lady Michelle Obama spoke with students from the school about their career aspirations. The students are chosen to attend speaking engagements based on their career goals. Past speakers include Craig Robinson, Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches; Valarie Jarrett, Obama Foundation CEO; John Rogers, Ariel Investment Founder; Myles Gage, Founder of Rapunzl; Britney Robbins, Founder of The Gray Matter Experience; Kim Godwin, ABC News President; and Juan Delgado, Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago.

Reed opened Luella’s Southern Kitchen in 2015. He named it after his great grandmother who lived in Morgan City, Miss., and moved to Chicago. The restaurant serves food that Reed grew up eating and provides a nostalgic ambiance, along with the food. He relives his childhood memories through the restaurant and shares it with the Lincoln Square community and patrons who come to the restaurant.

Growing up, Reed used to watch Cajun Chef Justin Wilson on Channel 11. He chose Culinary Arts at Dunbar as his vocation. Cooking was something he enjoyed, but at the time, in high school, he wasn’t considering it for his career.

Reed enjoyed the experience with the high school students discussing culinary arts and owning his restaurants. He thought the students were sharp and they asked him questions that made him think. He has been interviewed a lot since Luella’s opened eight years ago. The students asked thorough provoking questions about his best memories, and the difference between his brand and the restaurant’s brand.

“I enjoyed the dialogue, I enjoyed the back-and-forth with them. It was almost like a working lunch. We fed them lunch and they asked questions. I was able to introduce them to myself and a little story about my great grandmother. In turn, I learned they were pretty bright students,” Reed said.

Luella’s Southern Kitchen is located at 4609 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information about Luella’s Southern Kitchen, visit www.luellassouthernkitchen.com.

For more information about the Obama Foundation Future Series, visit www.obama.org/future-series.

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