IT’S as if someone waved a magical wand with a sweet recipe for Orieon Wizzard.

The 27-year-old who was born and raised in Islington, St Mary, is an executive chef at Hatfields and McCoys Dinner Feud in Tennessee, United States.

Wizzard was cared for by his mother, Shernette Edwards, and they moved to New Town, Clarendon, to start a new life when he was six years old. When he was 16 his mother died due to heart problems, leaving him and his three-year-old sister behind.

At that point, young and feeling the absence of his mother, Wizzard didn’t have a career plan. Afterwards, he was adopted by his aunt who became his legal guardian.

“We had career day at my high school and I saw a chef demonstrating how to carve watermelon, ice, and a bunch of other fruits. Seeing this ignited something in me. Then all the memories of watching my mom cook came flooding over me… remembering that when she used to cook Sunday dinner I would always be in the kitchen watching every step and not knowing at the time that I was actually learning at the same time,” Wizzard told the Jamaica Observer last Thursday.

Wizzard’s educational journey began at Annunciation Basic School, and then he went on to Mineral Heights Primary. He completed secondary education at Denbigh High School and then took on tertiary studies at University of Technology (UTech, Jamaica).

“I applied and got accepted to UTech for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and studied food service management. I learned a lot at UTech and all got a lot of opportunities and networking [having] attended there. I went on the J1 programme in 2018 and 2019 to work in Tennessee for this same company that I’m now the executive chef for today. Currently I’m now married with a wonderful wife, Jenna Wizzard, and one-year-old son, Mason Wizzard,” he said.

“I would consider having to migrate and move from Jamaica during COVID, and having overcome the US Citizenship and Immigration Services timeline and process as some of the issues that affected me, but each challenge had their part to play in helping to shape me in the person I am and the person I aspire to be. Along with that, having to be away from my younger sister for five years now has put me down sometimes. I would say [though, that] the biggest factor, issue I would consider [as having impacted me] are losing my mom and dad in the same year.”

Wizzard was a recipient of a Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards Scholarship in 2017. He told the Sunday Observer that he plans to continue improving his skills.

Four years ago he was given the ‘Standing O Award’ at Hatfields and McCoys Dinner Feud, which he considers his greatest achievement because at the time he was the first black person to ever win that award in the company.

“There is always room to grow, and I also plan to help any young and upcoming chef that needs it. Having someone to guide you, help you along the way — I want to be that person for them. So in a nutshell, my main plan is to give back and help provide scholarships for chefs — just as the Observer did for me and fellow classmates when I was attending UTech,” he declared.

“My family is my motivation and the reason I push on everyday. The love they show and how proud they are, for me it’s just marvellous. The feeling gives me reassurance that maybe I’m doing something right.”

Detailing his journey to this point, Wizzard said it has been a road he would travel all over again if he could start over.

“I would say I have came a long way from starting to take my culinary skills seriously where it started in high school, doing home and economics and food and nutrition that they would classify as a ‘girl class’ — but that didn’t bother me one bit because I knew what I wanted to be, a Michelin chef, and this is a start,” he told the Sunday Observer.

“I’m still aiming to be that. I used to work for Tooksie Kay Catering by Alexa Von Strolley in Jamaica, where I started as her assistant chef and worked my way up to be the kitchen manager for that company as well. I learned a lot from working for her, and the team that was there had a lot to do with teaching me — in ways they didn’t even realise — for me to be the chef I am today.”