Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef David Jones.
Chef David, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It was June of 2016. My friend and I was sitting inside of a cigar lounge where we were members at. This guy appeared out of nowhere and sat with us. He began to explain that he was there vacationing from Mexico to see his daughter in Dallas.
Has the conversation went on, I became curious about his life in Mexico. As the conversation went on, I began to look up Rosarito, Mexico. To my surprise, it was extremely economical to live there and it quickly got my attention! At this point, I still had a son in college and he wasn’t going to be graduating until 2017, but this now had my full attention.
I retired from the Navy in 2007 after 20 years of service and had always dreamed about living out of the country but I never really tried to make the dream a reality. I ran the numbers and said, “you know what I’m going to go ahead and do this.” So I set myself a date. March 15th, 2018 I will be living in Mexico, is what I said to myself.
March 11th, 2018 I was living in Mexico. It was an amazing journey. I threw everything in the storage and what could not fit in my little two-seater I got rid of. Baja California, Mexico was an awesome experience! It was there that I was able to open up my very own restaurant for the first time in my life and it also opened the door for an acting career as I was an actor in the movie Mind Talker.
After about 2 and 1/2 years of living in Baja, California, Mexico, I decided that I wanted to venture further into Mexico. I visited Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara as a possible places to relocate to. It was only after 2 days in Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico that I realized this was the place for me. The year-round weather, friendly people and the beautiful Caribbean Sea called to me.
I’ve been living here now for two years and I am an official resident of Mexico. I absolutely love my life and I wouldn’t trade it for the world!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve always said when things are for you there are no bumps in the road. This place and this move has been smooth as butter from every transition that I’ve made since being here. Staying positive and optimistic allowed me to make a seamless move.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a personal chef, I take pride in the work that I do. As a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Dallas, TX, my cooking skills were taken to an entirely new level. For being here in Mexico, I do it as a leisure and not as a necessity. Of course, everyone here calls me Chef because they’ve known and seen my work.
What sets me apart from everyone else is the standard and work ethic that I’ve set for my craft. I give it my all and my presentations are impeccable.
How do you define success?
I define success as the ability to take your dreams and make them reality on whatever level that is for you. Success for everyone is different but for me, I have exceeded my dreams and that to me is a success.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ChefDeejaya
- Facebook: @David Chef De’Jaes Jones
