Derek Wallace
Co-Founder
Derek Wallace grew up in Syracuse, New York, and from a young age had a dream of being able to travel the world. Derek studied at Syracuse University, where he started a tutoring program for children that combined academics with athletics, and became a student manager of a literacy program. These experiences cultivated an early passion for bettering the community around him, though upon graduation, Derek took the more practical route of working in sales for a large textiles corporation, where he stayed for 17 years. As Derek grew in his position at this company, he became more aware of the toxic culture of misogyny, homophobia, and racism, brought on by senior leadership, which motivated him to leave and return to his roots of serving the community. Inspired by an episode of Chef’s Table, Derek rediscovered how stories about travel and food can bring happiness and understanding, and in wanting to share these stories with his son, he noticed a gap. While there were many resources for parents wanting to cook with kids, there were not kid-friendly stories that used food as a lens to learn about culture. With this in mind, Derek created the concept for Kalamata’s Kitchen, a platform that encourages children to explore the world through food, and partnered with former Le Bernardin sommelier Sarah Thomas to bring his vision to life.