Introduce yourself.

My name is Kevin Collins. On instagram you can find me at @sixeightchef. I love love love cooking, listening to good music, laughing, reading, and binge watching shows on pretty much every streaming service that exists. I come from a huge family (youngest of six, with like a hundred aunts and uncles who can all - for the most part cook.)

Where are you from?

I hail from the Chicagoland area. I was born in Chicago (the greatest city in the country) and raised in Joliet. Before I moved to the east coast, I lived in Chicago proper for the last 4.5 years.

So, SixEight as in 6 feet 8 inches?

Yep! I am actually 6’8 and a half but I leave the half off because that is excessive. And no, I am not an athlete. I love food and music - I was a band nerd for 12 years. I did play basketball from ages 12 through 17 but that wasn’t my passion.

So, how did you become SixEightChef?

SixEightChef has been my baby since around 2015. It started as an Instagram page where I chronicled my food and fitness journey. I finally decided I was ready to share what I’ve learned in a more intentional way via this website a year or so ago.

Did you always want to become a personal/home chef?

I’ve always believed that I have a strong connection with food and cooking encoded in my DNA. But, I did not step into a kitchen to cook, seriously, until 2010. That was the year I moved away from home and was truly out on my own in these heartless streets of adulthood. So it started with the reality that I needed to eat, then shifted to needing to eat more healthily, but now it has become much more.

Talk more about how you developed your relationship with food.

When I was growing up, food served many purposes. It brought my family together to celebrate, to connect, to heal, to grieve, to rejuvenate, to fuel, and satisfy. I grew up watching my mother, aunts, my grandfather (The Pit Master), and grandmother perform culinary feats for basically a small army - I have a lot of aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins.

What do you remember most about your family’s cooking?

I watched the care, the precision, the freeness, the intentionality, the joy, and love that they all poured into whatever it was they were making. Thanksgiving dinner. Chicken noodle soup. Grilled cheese. Rice. Especially, tomato gravy - a family staple that I am STILL trying to make as good as my Mom. All of the aforementioned were always identifiable as soon as you took the first bite. We have this saying that you can taste what state of mind the person was in while preparing your food, the quote specifically was, “I don’t want no mad food.” I believe that we were only able to pick up on that because, firstly, the McCullum intuition is unmatched, but secondly, because we know firsthand what loving, joyful, and carefully prepared food tastes like.

What parts did you bring with you?

I try to infuse that same care, intentionality, patience, joy, and fun in every dish I make. My hope is that I can inspire the same healthy and fulfilling relationship with food and the overall joy of cooking in others.

What can people expect from SixEight Chef?

A mix of food photography, recipes, restaurant reviews, sarcasm, and a lot of fun experiments. You will also find meal planning/prepping services, IG/FaceTime consultations, and more!