Michael Daniels grew up eating very exotic foods, including pheasant, quail, Red Snapper,
Orange Roughy, Mahi Mahi, and even Octopus. As a child, he would hurry home from school to
see what his mother was cooking for that day. He learned at a young age that food made people
happy and want to come together. Business people always close deals over dinner, proposals
are made over dinner, and arguments are ended over breaking bread together.
He knew he wanted to be a part of this culinary business that made people come together and
be happy. On the weekends, he always looked forward to all family members and friends
coming for dinner.
His immediate family often traveled to Alabama and Florida, where they would experience all
kinds of homes and elaborate meals. He loved the hustle and bustle of the restaurant
atmosphere and ambiance. The food always looked amazing and smelled incredible. He was
fortunate to often get the chance to go back to the kitchen and meet the chef, “the head dude
who was in control of the culinary world.” They always noticed his strong interest in food and
would give him recipes to try. When they returned home, his mom would gather the ingredients
to create the recipes the chefs shared.
He would practice constantly until he was eventually feeding his parents and their guests at card
parties. He had a special culinary gift and took advantage of it, attending every class and
workshop he could. He studied International Cuisine. “I wanted to learn to cook foods from
around the world and make it taste authentic as I could.” Growing up with a basement full of
musical instruments, his sisters always had their friends over after school and for sleepovers on
weekends. “All my friends wanted to be there, so there was music, fun, and of course, my food,
kind of like a get-well package all in one.”
After studying Theatre and Film at Ohio State, Michael took a tip from none other than Morgan
Freeman and made the move west to California. Through his connections there, he landed a
small write-in role in the movie “For the Boys.” When he struggled to find work as an actor, he
decided to use his culinary background and took a job working at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant
“Spago's”. With his up close status with celebrities, it wasn’t long until he began receiving
requests to cater their dinner parties. This quickly snowballed and led to lots of travel and an
exciting list of names to add to his professional resume having had the pleasure of working in
different levels of culinary services for Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson,
Kenny G, and many other artists.
When his mother became sick with ovarian cancer, he slowed down to help look after her.
“Before she passed away, she told me to keep up with my dream in culinary, and I would do
great things.” Chef Michael now owns MD Creative Blends Catering, has a seasoning line, and
continues to meet many interesting people, even having met the President of the United States.
“I have always been into the business of flavor and have appeared on T.V., radio, and
magazines; life as a chef has been very interesting.”
