First, and most obvious, his personality — he can seamlessly blend into any environment. His father was in the military, so he moved around frequently growing up, constantly adapting to different situations, people, places. He can easily segue from personal chef to hilarious homie. Second, he’s a former athlete. He played Division I at Alabama A&M. It wasn’t just that he can talk with them, or that he has some understanding of who they are and what they’d want. But his attention to detail and his grind, they can spot it and appreciate it.

He’s a California native who went to play college football. Alabama A&M, which is nestled almost perfectly in the middle of the 200-mile straight shot between Birmingham and Nashville. He transferred to A&M after two years at Mesa Community College, and the 6-foot converted linebacker played sparingly over his last two years of eligibility.

After impressing a team scout at A&M’s pro day, he spent a year on the New York Giants’ practice squad in 2010, then played two years professionally in Canada with the B.C. Lions before breaking his collarbone, ending his career. He knew when he was done with football his next move would somehow involve food.

Successful food ventures are built on positive relationships, and he has spent the past five years building them with athletes, celebrities and political figures across Arizona and beyond.

Chef Ron usually wakes up by 5 a.m. these days. He’s not much of a runner anymore but likes to take two-hour walks to meditate and prepare for the day ahead. When he finally settles into the kitchen, the first thing he does is set the tone by pumping something through his Beats By Dr. Dre Pill. Speakers like Eric Thomas keep him focused. He’ll bump gospel artists like Travis Greene or Kirk Franklin when he’s feeling spiritual, or classic Bob Marley when he’s feeling high-energy. Creating a positive atmosphere in his kitchen is important to him because he believes any negative energy can affect the taste of his food.

After a series of meetings with his catering coordinator and business partner (Amber Smith) and website manager (Antonio Cuellar), the ingredients come out. The ovens are fired up. The sleeves are rolled back. It’s time to get to work. They prepare hundreds of fresh, healthy, customized meals almost daily. Their consistency and dedication over the past five years is why clients come back for seconds and thirds, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Chef Ron’s clientele list has only expanded. He was eventually contracted by a music promoter who paid him to cook for various artists who performed around the Phoenix area.

Keith Sweat. The Migos. Neyo, Musiq Soulchild, Too $hort, Keyshia Cole, Chanel Iman, Pastor Chad Johnson and The list goes on.

And in addition to celebrities he’s also cooked for countless Athlete’s like Mike Bibby, Kyler Murray, Eric Bledsoe, Eric Ebron, Sterling Shepard, Byron Murphy Jr., ASU Men’s Basketball/Football Teams, Bobby Hurley, Christian Kirk, Nico Mannion, Jaelen House, Brian Urlacher and countless others.

When Young isn’t in the kitchen, he’s spending quality time with his two daughters. He dedicates long hours into his craft, but will always be a father first. During his down time, he takes his daughters on adventures to Flagstaff or Sedona. Amusement parks. Water parks. He’s more relaxed around them, they goof around a lot. He’s a family man, a guy who knows how to have fun.