FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2011

Executive Chef Ford Fry

Chef Ford Fry's passion for "Southern Farmstead Cooking" truly came to fruition with the launch of his first restaurant, JCT. Kitchen & Bar, in January of 2007. Since that time, the light-filled eatery has given guests the luxury of dining in alluring surroundings that impart the comfort of home. Fry's menu at JCT. is reminiscent of traditional family favorites and features ingredients from regional fields and farms.

"Food is a necessary ingredient to our culture in the South," says Fry. "We want good, fresh foods that are expertly prepared and pleasurable, both in taste and from the social aspect. JCT. Kitchen offers upscale, yet casual dining with a focus on the entire sensory experience. We have taken the classic European bistro and the role that it plays in the community and transformed it into our own, unique neighborhood restaurant offering authentic, gourmet comfort food."

Fry is a native of Houston, Texas, and a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. Prior to opening JCT., he spent nine years with EatZi's Market and Bakery, the Dallas-based gourmet market that specializes in chef-crafted meals for people on the go. As corporate chef for the Atlanta markets, Fry oversaw menu development and overall strategic development of the corporation. His extensive culinary background also includes stints in executive and sous chef positions at The Ritz Carlton in Aspen, Houston and Naples, as well as Snowmass Lodge in Snowmass, Colorado, and the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa in Ojai, California. During his tenure as executive sous chef of The Ritz Carlton Aspen, Condé Nast Traveler magazine named the resort "The Best Resort in the World," and Gourmet magazine referred to the restaurant, which carried a Five Star-Five Diamond rating, as "The Number One Restaurant in Aspen."

Aspen Magazine also named Chef Fry as one of the "Hottest New Upcoming Chefs in America." During his time in Aspen, Chef Fry was honored to work with some of the world's top chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, Dean Fearing, Julia Childs and Jacques Pepin at the acclaimed Aspen Food & Wine Classic.

In addition to his role at JCT., Fry is also the founder of one of Atlanta's most popular food events, The JCT. Kitchen & Bar Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival. This annual event features some of the South's best chefs and mixologists, who are paired with local farmers to create innovative tomato dishes. The Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival is also an excellent opportunity for chefs and attendees alike to meet producers and develop longstanding relationships in order to further support the local food movement. Proceeds from the event benefit Georgia Organics, an organization that is very important to Fry. Fry also serves as a founding chef of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, which is a luxury festival that celebrates the deep food and beverage traditions of the South and debuted May 19 – 22, 2011.

Fry currently resides in Roswell, Georgia, with his wife and two sons. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar and spending time with his family.