Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackson Locklear.
Hi Jackson, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started cooking when I was 16. My first job in the restaurant industry was flipping burgers at a Krystal’s in South Georgia. It was fun and I was really good at it but I wasn’t sure that’s what I wanted to do. So I started college like everyone else and found some real struggles with it.
My family also went through a challenging time when I was in college, most difficult of which was my mom being diagnosed with breast cancer and going through those treatments. I decided to take a break from college and help the family so I started working in restaurants full time. During this time I found I enjoyed cooking and decided that I would pursue my career in the culinary arts and hospitality. I worked my way through many different kitchens in Atlanta and later Savannah before I returned to Statesboro, GA where I had my first job as an executive chef at a tapas bar. Later I helped with some other restaurants opening in Statesboro and also took a role as an executive chef at Georgia Southern University. This was about the time FaceBook was really gaining traction and I reconnected with an old friend of mine I had lost contact with and he was a chef in NYC. I decided to take a big risk and moved to NY to take a job at Cittanuova, an old-world Italian restaurant in East Hampton, NY. It was the first time I had ever flown on a plane and I bought a one-way ticket with no clue where I was going to live when I made it to NY. What I thought would be one summer season in The Hamptons extended to five years.
During that time, I took a few sabbaticals to work winters at Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado. I was the opening executive chef of Bon Vivant, which is a French Bistro located on the mountain which is only accessible by skis or snowboard. The success of that opening brought some me some visibility and I was recruited by Jose Andres to be one of his opening chefs for The Bazaar at South Beach. Working with Jose and his team was a highlight of my career and being around chefs with such great experience and passion for food developed a deeper appreciation of the path I had chosen. After my time with Jose, I started my own business Knives and Roses. My company has assisted with restaurant openings from coast to coast, chef mentorship programs, and supplemental support for hospitality projects. I’m also currently serving as the Executive Chef and Creative Director for an up-and-coming restaurant group in Atlanta where I support Mojave restaurant and soon-to-reopen Rose and Crown Tavern and RC Kitchen.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The chef life is never smooth, but we as chefs, embrace the grind. The pandemic raised some new challenges. Mainly our workforce has evolved, which has been well overdue. Chef’s and hospitality workers often work long, physically and mentally demanding hours where we miss out on many special occasions. During 2020 I took time to reevaluate my priorities and mental health and I think a lot of the industry did the same. It’s a different world now and finding a way to provide experiential hospitality to guests while focusing on our employees and managing them away from burnout.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a chef that has been classically trained. My specialties are Italian, Spanish, and Modernist Cuisines. I have worked all over this country so I have had exposure to a wide variety of different ingredients and American regional variations of dishes.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
How to listen has been, and continues to be one of the most important lessons I’ve learned and am still learning. Listening to your clients and guests so that you can provide them with the best food and experience possible is different from listening to your staff and what they need to be successful. As a chef, you have to listen to guests, employees, owners, the management team, suppliers, and your maintenance team. It’s my job to take all of their input and feedback and decipher it to make a decision on what is best for the business and everyone involved in the business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefjblocklear/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefjbrown/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-locklear-9ba397ab/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChefJBLocklear
