Meet Bobby Hicks | Chef and Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bobby Hicks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bobby, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I believe that success in almost any field comes from the humility to know that you’re not the best at what you do, but not stopping there.
Having that perspective has always kept me humble but eager to become better. It has always pointed me in the right direction for growth and always introduced me to the right person to take me to the next phase of my journey.
When you’re patient and willing to listen, the folks that you really need to impress will notice.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Retro Recipes Kitchen is my social account that I founded in early 2021, after we moved from Brooklyn to South Florida. I never had the space in my small NYC apartments to film creative cooking videos, but loved to cook.
I took my love for video production and cooking and blended the worlds together with my interest in vintage clothing and old movies. I felt I could do a fun, kitschy series that made tutorial videos in the style of a 1950s educational video, that I had seen circulating online.
The rest is history, where I honed my skill, refined my craft and even found a team of people to help bring the vision to life.
Since then, I’ve gone on to be a semi-finalist from Fox’s Next Level Chef, a Gordon Ramsay production, and have grown my audience over 200K followers on multiple platforms.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I personally love visiting Wynwood, in Miami, for the art scene and the food. The energy there reminds me of Brooklyn, but with better parking.
Since moving to South Florida, I’m still exploring and learning more about Miami, but when I find myself down there, I still visit Versailles for some iconic, historic Cuban cooking, but I have many more spots that I hope to find.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mentor, Chef Paul Gerard, is the reason why I have the drive and skillset that I’ve acquired over the years. He saw my interest in cooking, long before I had the foundational skills, and he gave me the chance to learn with him and his team.
Chef Paul gave me my first real kitchen job, working as a prep cook, moving to the line and eventually running the banquet department of the SoHo House in NYC.

My Partner, Keiko, is also one of the most important people in my life.
She has always fanned the flame and helped me with my interests, giving me the runway to hone my skills. Without her selflessness and support, I’d likely be a room server still.

Website: https://www.retrorecipeskitchen.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrorecipeskitchen

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@retrorecipeskitchen

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@retrorecipeskitchen

Image Credits
Photos by Keiko Lynn and Myself