Melvin “Boots” Johnson

A Los Angeles native, Melvin “Boots” Johnson grew up in his parents’ barbecue restaurant before he made the jump into Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in New York City as a broiler cook in 2002. He moved on to Southern chef Norma Jean Darden’s Spoonbread group of restaurants as a sous chef before he opened a gourmet food truck, Slow Cal BBQ, in San Diego in 2010. Three years later, he brought Slow Cal BBQ to Las Vegas and began working as a banquet sous chef at Mandalay Bay. In 2015 he joined Yardbird Southern Kitchen & Table in Las Vegas and is currently the Corporate Executive Chef at Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem.

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