SAN ANTONIO — Chef Milas Williams has been behind bars for aggravated robbery, but now he spends his time in the kitchen, a place he says changed the trajectory of his life and the life of kids on a similar path. 

“This is where it all ends, here in this ballroom right here,” Chef Williams said about his students' upcoming cooking class graduation. 

They’ll be celebrating the culmination of weeks of work under his guidance.  

“I understand who they are. I understand where they are at right now in life because I’ve been there. I’ve been on probation,” said Williams. 

Chef Williams works with kids serving time at the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. The kids, who must remain anonymous, are able to complete service hours for credit in this kitchen. It’s a different kind of penalty for their crimes, one Williams wishes he’d had growing up. 

“I did my fair share. I did my fair share of hurting my community. I did my fair share of hurting my family. I did my fair share of making my mother cry. At that time in the late '80s and early '90s, gangs across America were rampant in all urban communities,” said Williams. 

Chef Williams said food saved his life. After serving a prison sentence for aggravated robbery, he found refuge in the kitchen. 

“Every time that I read a recipe, I think about each ingredient. Each ingredient could represent my mama, my auntie, my grandmother. And that coach that loved me at school and didn’t want to see me do bad or that principal in my elementary that wanted to see me do good,” said Williams. 

Now, with the help of his brother Derrick Williams, the pair is mentoring kids serving time in the kitchen. 

“It’s very emotional for me right now. From where we came from, our background, our history. It’s very touching you know, it’s very uplifting too, and it feels so good to know that we’re touching somebody’s life,” said Derrick Williams. 

Chef Williams said he believes in the power of food and wants to use it for good. 

“I think a lot of us as adults, we forget that, that this generation is crying out. They’re searching for love, they’re searching for acceptance, they’re searching for, ‘hey, show us the way, because y’all always telling us do this, do this, do this, but nobody’s showing us step by step,” he said.