TheCASHFLOW - View Features

TheCASHFLOW - View Features

Humbled to be feature on the this wonderful website! Thanks to Angela, Brian, & Ryan!

From a Slave to Published Author: The Journey of Rufus Estes

As the saying goes, " It's not where you start but how you finish"
Rufus Estes, the youngest of nine, was born into slavery in Murray County, Tennessee in 1857. 

After being freed at 10 years old his family moved to Nashville to live with his grandmother. Young Rufus was required to do many chores around the house, including cooking.  At the age of 16 he started working in a Nashville restaurant.  Five years later at the age of 21, Rufus left for Chicago hoping to find more work.

By 1883 Rufus begin working for the prestigious Pullman railroad company as a porter. During this time Pullman employed the largest number of African-Americans in the country.  Gordon Parks, Malcolm X, and Oscar Micheaux were once employed by the Pullman Company.


Ambitious, Rufus worked his way up to Chef & Manager of several private cars traveling across the world and cooking for distinguished guests including President Grover Cleveland and British explorer Henry Morgan Stanley!

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of  Rufus' published cookbook titled, "Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus: A Collection of Practical Recipes For Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc.!" He was the one of the first African-Americans to accomplish this extraordinary feat!

The book features recipes from his rural southern roots to the ultra-exclusive world of the Pullman cars!Only about 12 original copies of his books survived by the time it was finally reprinted in 1999.


What a life! We salute you Rufus!


This story is sponsored by:

World Wide Nate!


Nathan Fluellen is a consummate traveler and lives by his motto “travel the world and have the time of your life”!

Nathan is a graduate of Tennessee State University. During his studies there, he befriended a professor who had traveled to more than 80 countries. Instantly intrigued, Nathan immediately knew he needed to figure out how to make traveling the world his profession! To satisfy the urge, upon graduation, Nathan began managing tours for various Fortune 500 companies. This kept him busy traveling domestically, but he knew there was much more of the world to explore.

Nathan’s first international trip to Barcelona, Spain transformed his entire outlook on the world. He realized that although people have differences we are all the same. The experience of new culture, food, fashion, architecture, and mindset unleashed the desire to find that in every corner of the world.

Nathan’s thirst for Travel over the years has brought him to four continents and 19 countries. Some of which include Taiwan, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Sweden, England, France, Italy, China, Bahamas, and Japan.

The beauty of diversity constantly inspires Nathan to explore other cultures. This love of travel compelled Nathan to share it with family and friends and has since grown to his own website and blog, www.worldwidenate.com. Here he shares his adventures and reveals his secrets on how to have the time of your life traveling the world. During his travels, Nathan covers everything from dusk till dawn, culinary cuisine, shopping, spa’s, night life, historical sites…… just to name a few. Utilize Nathan’s experiences to plan your next vacation. So come take a peak and see how Nathan can be your guide to living a global lifestyle!!!

There's JOY in the JOURNEY!

Of course Thanksgiving is a time to EAT & EAT & EAT and enjoy family, but how many of us really take a minute to reflect and give thanks for all the blessings that have been bestowed upon us despite ourselves?

This year I was blessed to have the opportunity to fly to Arizona and cook Thanksgiving dinner for a wonderful family. As I drove to the airport that morning I was a little tired from rising at 5:30am to catch the flight, but as soon as I arrived in the home and begin to dig through ingredients and set up the kitchen for the day, a feeling of thankfulness hit me like a jolt of caffeine!

I never thought or dreamed 3 years ago when I walked by faith and started YAMS Catering ( along with encouragement from my wife, mentor, friends and family) that GOD would've blessed me with this kind of opportunity ! Humbled, I begin to cut, chop, saute, mix, taste, and boil for the next twelve hours with a fuel of gratefulness that's hard to describe!

The next day when it was time to fly back to California I thought about the lesson and one of the things that jumped out is "There's JOY IN THE JOURNEY"! So many of us ( Myself included) get frustrated, impatient, or just plain old ungrateful chasing our dreams that we miss the accomplishments and joy that we experience in the process! Take time to reflect and refuel on your way to whatever your purpose is, GOD knows when we are ready for our vision to come to past, but he's also watching to see if we can see the JOY on the way there!?

Happy Holidays,

YAMS