Chef Clifford Rome developed an early interest in food after helping his grandmother prepare meals fresh from the garden of his childhood home in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. He began his culinary career as a food operations manager at Midway Concessionaires and mastered the art of event planning through his experience with the Marriott Corporation. Chef Rome’s career turned toward fine dining, working with renowned chefs Wolfgang Puck and François Kwaku-Dongo at Spago Restaurant, as a line chef and member of their catering team—creating meals for the social elite, commercial photo shoots, and Oscar parties.

 Today, Chef Rome’s culinary experience spans the globe, He spends most of his time training young chefs and emerging business leaders about the importance of building a better, more connected future workforce with outstanding leadership 

In 2002, Chef Rome founded Rome’s Joy Companies, which boasts a business portfolio that includes Peach Branded coffee, Peach’s on 47th, two Grab & Go concepts under the Peach’s Restaurant brand (Peach’s @ Gordon Cafe and Peach’s @ University inside Crerar library) both located on the University of Chicago campus, a full-service catering and event-planning company,a fine art gallery called Blanc Gallery and the Parkway Ballroom—a historic banquet facility located in the heart of Chicago’s Bronzeville community. With more than 30 years of experience in the field of food service, Chef Rome has received numerous awards and recognition from local, national, and international media alike.

 Chef Rome has made frequent television appearances and features in Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, and Conde Nast Traveler magazine to name a few. Chef Rome is committed to promoting African American participation in the culinary industry. He has partnered with Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP), After School Matters, Washburne Culinary School, Healthy Schools Campaign, YMCA, Centers for New Horizons, Education to Careers, and Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. Through these partnerships, Chef Rome encouraged African American youth to pursue careers in the culinary field. Most recently, Chef Rome has been actively training people seeking opportunities to expand their skill set within the service and hospitality industry through his training program Mise En Place.