Tweets with pictures of his photogenic foods and requests for retweets helped West Chester University graduate Deron Mahoney take his Honey Hill Catering to a new level, writes Mónica Marie Zorrilla for Billy Penn.

Mahoney sent out his first tweet in July of last year. It said, “I’m a black chef with a black-owned catering company in Philadelphia. 1 RT could introduce me to my next client. Help a brotha out.”

He expected to see positive results but was stunned when his tweet received more than 20,000 retweets throughout Philadelphia and beyond.

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“I was getting requests from people in Jersey, in New York, in Baltimore,” said Mahoney. “It was hard to keep up with all of the business.”

However, once he adjusted to the increased demand, the chef began using the same tweet with monthly pictures of his food on his private and business accounts.

Now, Mahoney is using his success to give back to the community. He has been giving free cooking classes to neighborhood kids and is planning a back-to-school drive in September.

Read more about Deron Mahoney from Billy Penn here.

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