A former resident of Columbus, Ohio, area, Paulk attended Fort Hayes High School for the Performing Arts and The Ohio State University where he majored in music/voice. During the time he was in college, Paulk was a male escort and a drag queen who performed under the stage name of "Candy". Paulk also worked as a scheduler for an escort service, taking calls from clients in his apartment on his personal telephone line. "During the late 1980s John managed Cocolat, the celebrated San Francisco patisserie owned by James Beard award-winning cookbook author, Alice Medrich." (quoted on his Chef site) Later Paulk worked as a TWA flight attendant.