CHEF HASSAN ABDUS-SALAAM We all know the saying, “Everything happens for a reason” and for the man behind Catering At Its Best, Chef Hassan Abdus-Salaam fell into cooking as a way of life, not by choice, but of necessity. After the death of his wife, Chef Hassan was left with two young children to raise and feed on his own. He was offered a scholarship to attend The Art Institute Of Atlanta where he received his degree in Culinary Art in 1998. Upon graduating, Chef Hassan began his career as the Executive Chef of Peachtree Regional Hospital in Newnan, Georgia. This is where he began to hone his catering skills and realized that he actually had a flare for preparing meals that were pleasing to the eye and the palette. Chef Hassan relocated to Washington, DC and served as the Catering Manager for Howard University. During his stint at Howard University, Chef Hassan created “Catering At Its Best”; a full service catering company that he dreamed would go from his side gig to the main gig! As Chef Hassan worked diligently to build his clientele, he ran into an old friend in the entertainment industry who gave him an opportunity to provide catering for some of the biggest names in the industry. He seized the moment and left Howard University to follow his dream. Chef Hassan’s reputation began to grow in the Washington, DC metropolitan area as he catered for Diddy, Kanye West, Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, John Legend, 50Cent, and Brian Davis (Owner of The DC United Soccer Team) personal chef for Donovan McNabb former quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, Lamman Rucker, Yandy from Love and Hip Hop to name a few, Chef Hassan also has been the winner of the “Richmond Men Are Cooking” competition for 3 years. Currently, Chef Hassan can be found preparing American Cuisine at Journey’s Café, in Surry Va. "There are no limits to what you can get," Chef Hassan explains, "But you have to make a way to attain it for yourself."