KC chef from ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is using his culinary skills to unify community at home
Chef Jayaun Smith has cooked on TV, for celebrities and for professional athletes, and now he is bringing his culinary skills back to Kansas City and sharing them in various ways with his hometown.
“One big thing about me is anything that allows me to serve my community I am about,” Smith said. “Being able to have the opportunity to put my name out in the community to touch base with a culture or people I have never gotten to reach — and spread my message and love of cooking, too — is something I am always looking to do.”
He’s working with schoolchildren and answering the call from local churches and community leaders who host gatherings where Kansas City residents come together to solve problems plaguing neighborhoods. Recently, Smith prepared the meal for an event called Dinner and Discourse at St. James United Methodist Church, one of the largest Black churches in the region.
Smith believes that the more success he receives in his career, the more he needs to give to the community.
“I want to be a true voice and chef for Kansas City,” he said, adding that events like the one at St. James helps him get “one step closer to being able to connect with the community.”
“Food is love and it brings people together from different backgrounds, and it is just easier to find a middle ground over a nice meal.”
The Raytown High School graduate has spent his life in the kitchen, watching his family cook and learning the ropes. Smith did not begin to see cooking as a career option until the age of 16 when he started taking classes and competing in competitions. At 17, he began working in restaurants and spent the next five years paying his dues until Chris Good, owner of Ruby Jean’s Juicery, hired him as executive chef to develop the menu there.
“I was on the path of creating a name for myself and really young, and Chris really trusted and wanted to work with me,” the 28-year-old Smith said. “He had faith in me and gave me full range to create the menu. When it was my time for me to spread my wings, he saw the trajectory I was on and was always supportive.”
In 2019, Smith started hosting pop-up brunches to promote his name in the community. Called the Element Brunch Series, it was held in the Crossroads District and the West Bottoms.
Smith grew more popular cooking on social media, where he was able to show off his kitchen prowess while highlighting his personality and flair. He caught the attention of casting producers for the popular cooking-competition show, “Hell’s Kitchen,” which features world-renowned Chef Gordon Ramsey. Smith was approached to be a contestant on the program’s 20th season subtitled “Young Guns.”
Smith said that while on the show, he was able to bring a lot of his KC culture into the dishes he made and was proud to represent his hometown.
“’Hell’s Kitchen’ kind of fell into my hands,” he said. “They reached out and said the producers loved my personality and that I was so young, and asked if it would be something I would be interested in.”
He didn’t win the competition, but he said his career took off after his appearance on the reality show. In 2021, Smith and a partner opened a food truck called The What Truck for two years. Smith also is known for his slider spot, Just Slide, in North Kansas City’s Iron District.
Smith is also a partner in UHungry?, an online service founded in 2016 to help inspire collaboration and innovation among local chefs alongside co-founder Stephen Blakley.
After selling the food truck and moving from the Iron District, Smith wanted to have his own physical location and opened a smashburger-concept restaurant that he co-owns called Sauced, located at 1881-B Main St. Smith releases a custom sauce each month that he prepares himself, and he personally trains his staff of six so they can get hands-on guidance from a chef of his caliber.
With his popularity locally came an increase in private bookings from celebrities including boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., comedian D.C. Young Fly, music power couple Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, and multiple Kansas City Chiefs players.
“My appearance on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ made life easier as a chef, because I was able to gain clientele easier,” Smith said. “It is also harder because it comes with a lot more, and I have this name to live up to and just keeping up with the growth.”
For the past two years, Smith has partnered with Coca-Cola for a sponsorship deal, where during the football season he is paired with players and creates dishes for them like jerk chicken, braised pot roast and teriyaki salmon infused with Coca-Cola products.
When not growing his businesses, Smith, who still resides in KC and is single with no kids, spends his time helping inspire the next generation of chefs in the city. Last year, he launched the nonprofit organization, A Kid in The Kitchen, that teaches students how to cook at no cost to them. This summer, Smith will also launch a 10-week, YMCA-affiliated class to help young people find joy in cooking.
“We just launched last August and just got a grant from the Kansas City Restaurant Association,” Smith said. “We are looking to secure more grants, so we can go into different schools and provide these free cooking classes for kids in the area to learn easy home recipes and maybe a few complex ones.
“It is a confidence booster for kids and teaches them more about their personalities, reading, math and paying attention.”
All of those skills, Smith said, go into “teaching these kids how to cook.”
