William Dodds, Founder of The Perfect Jerk
William Dodds is the founder and chef of The Perfect Jerk. William and his parents were born in Dumas, Arkansas.
He moved with his mother to Kansas City, Kansas as a young child. Many people do not realize that Kansas City was known as “The Home of Barbecue.”As the oldest male sibling, William’s mother taught him how to make southern roots food from scratch, otherwise known as soul food.
Upon arriving in Chicago, William dove into the fashion industry and quickly learned he had a knack for selling clothes. William peddled his wares in the streets on Madison and Pulaski Rd.
His reputation and sales grew, and he opened his first brick and Mortar store on 79th and Eberhart, quickly growing into a retail/wholesale business in the lower level of the MP Mall on the West Side.
His reputation and sales grew, and he opened his first brick and Morter store on 79th and Eberhart, quickly growing into a retail/wholesale business in the lower level of the MP Mall on the West Side.
William became known as “Mr. Discount.” He traveled to China and Korea and established relationships with clothing manufacturers, focusing on shoes and urban apparel. He took his business seriously, attended the Canton fair in China, and took the bullet train to Busan, Korea. He attended many shows, including “The Magic” clothing shows, twice yearly at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and many fashion shows such as; The LA and NY fashion Week Events.
One of Williams’s favorite establishments was Che Che’s restaurant on 5800 West Madison. Juan, the original owner, was Puerto Rican, and his wife was Mexican. They prepared Puerto Rican and Mexican food from scratch. They also sold American food and breakfast items all day long.
One day, while delivering food to one of Williams’s stores, they mentioned that they planned to sell the restaurant and move to Mexico. Their children wanted to work in the restaurant but not take it over. With little thought, William told them he would purchase their restaurant without experience. He was confident in his business aptitude and passion for cooking. William decided to take this existing operation and expand upon it by introducing Jamaican food and Hired Sonny White.
He soon renamed the restaurant Chloe’s, after his daughter, and this is where things started to take off. William took Jerk Cooking to the boundaries of its paradigm. He began infusing foods and creating unchartered jerk recipes, taking Mexican, Puerto Rican, Asian, Caribbean, and Soul Food to “jerky” levels. The Asian and Caribbean fusion was an example of an experimental infusion technique that began to separate him from everyone else. William found a niche, allowing him to segway out of the clothing business and back to his roots, cooking soul food.
Because there were so many items (I.e., Italian Beef, Philly Cheese Steaks, and various American Fare, coupled with Mexican, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, Caribbean cuisines, and more), the inventory became challenging to manage, and he was seeking something different for his future.
After three years, William was beginning to burn out. Ironically, Juan and his wife returned to the states because she “could not drink the water” and kept getting sick. They approached William to re-purchase the business, and the timing could not have been better for William.
William had to regroup and decide his niche, and he soon concluded that jerk cooking would become his future. William began searching for a new restaurant location where he could dig in and build some roots. He stumbled across an opportunity to take a trip to Jamaica. Sonny White reached out to him and didn’t have to twist his arm too hard to take Sonny up on the offer.
He docked into Portland, a parish on Jamaica’s northeast coast—this unique area, located north of St Thomas and east of St. Mary, is where the heart and soul of jerk cooking exists. The parish area is lush and beautiful, with luxurious beaches, flourishing vegetation, and an abundance of caves and rivers at the peak of the Blue Mountain range. This trip was the best decision William had ever made because of the opportunity to experience the food and the culture. It’s the people in Jamaica that make their country great. Like people from the deep south, the Jamaicans learn how to survive with very little. All the food is grown fresh and cooked from the soul, just like soul food.
To the Jamaicans, jerk cooking is not just adding some rub and grilling meat. It requires a specific procedure and a unique spice blend to make the ultimate rub, and the true secret is in the jerk sauce, which gives Jamaican Jerk its flavor and juiciness. William also learned how to manipulate the heat to cook the meats and vegetables at the right temperature for optimal flavor and texture; the entire process comes from the soul. The experience of “soul cooking” with the Jamaican people became the turning point in William’s story, and this is where he saw the light.
When William returned, he opened “The Perfect Jerk” and created the ultimate Jerk menu, from kids’ food like; Jerk nachos and fries and jerk taco’s to adults with sophisticated palates who enjoy his Jerk lobster tail and lamb chop specials. He worked with multiple food types, infusing and jerking foods from fries to egg rolls to Caribbean favorites.
William created a short and sweet menu with the jerk items that he felt would separate him from the rest. The Perfect Jerk is not a Jamaican Jerk restaurant but a Jerk Fusion of American and International Cuisines, utilizing the enhanced, soulful teachings of his newfound Jamaican brothers and sisters. He purchased two food trucks that he plans to roll out soon. He is also in the process of acquiring a liquor license so he can create a cocktail bar and patio deck.
William’s philanthropic heart, coupled with the confidence in his soulful jerk cooking, led him to give away 1000 dinners in a weekend at his grand opening. He plans to continue giving away dinners once per month as a customer appreciation day as long as he is in business. Anyone who appreciates jerk cooking will fall in love with Williams’s food and return for more.
