Sam Jett
Sam Jett has been named government chef at Audrey, the East Nashville Appalachian restaurant based by chef Sean Brock in 2021. Jett, like Brock, has household roots in Appalachia, and after years operating operations at Audrey, Jett tells the Scene he’s excited to return to the kitchen.
“It’s been actually nice to dive again into the kitchen these final two months,” says Jett, who has labored with Brock for years, first as a part of the opening staff at Husk Nashville. He additionally labored at Loss of life & Taxes in Raleigh, N.C., earlier than returning to work with Brock once more, serving to design, open and run Audrey.
“Sean is admittedly extremely gifted in refinement,” Jett says of the variations between the 2 cooks, “whereas I are likely to chase soul much more.”
To Jett, which means homing in on the qualities of resilience and resourcefulness which were and nonetheless are a part of the Appalachian expertise. He’s targeted on the connection to the land and the ideology of the meals he’s serving at Audrey. Greens could have an uneven lower, and burnt ends are a part of the recipe.
Jett doesn’t wish to import components for the Audrey kitchen, choosing instance for an area cold-pressed canola oil relatively than an imported olive oil. He’s leaning on Nashville-area farms for many components, with exceptions for components from the mountains of Appalachia that may’t be grown in Center Tennessee.
Chinese language takeout, Neapolitan pizza, Asian fusion and Southern ice cream are coming collectively on the East Facet
“I’m not going to purchase ramps from Michigan or Washington,” he says. “That’s not the identical soil. It’s not the identical style. I could also be taking it a bit too far, however I feel there’s something about this, just like the terroir mindset that Europe has.”
As first reported within the Scene in April, the change in government chef comes as Brock is not an proprietor of Audrey, the restaurant named after his grandmother. Paul Mishkin, as soon as co-owner of Audrey with Brock (and an investor in Brock’s now-shuttered The Continental), is now the only real proprietor of Audrey’s “property, its asset and model,” he informed the Scene in an e-mail. Mishkin additionally owns Southall Farm and Inn, the posh resort in Franklin. The Southall staff now handles operations for Audrey. Including Jett at Audrey will probably be Hannah LaFary, who was named normal supervisor.
Brock informed the Scene that the expertise of Audrey for diners will probably be constant in that it’s primarily based on his imaginative and prescient and his culinary philosophy. It’s nonetheless Brock’s books that line the library and his private artwork assortment on the partitions, Brock says. He’ll nonetheless be obtainable for personal dinners upstairs within the area that after housed June, the tasting restaurant named after his different grandmother, which closed in 2024.
Brock will probably be focusing his time on Sho Pizza Bar, which opened in Inglewood in April, and Joyland, his crustburger and chicken-on-a-stick chain. Joyland at present has 4 places, together with one in Birmingham, Ala., and one in Charleston, S.C. Sho Pizza Bar inventor Ben Gambill sees the chance for added Sho Pizza Bar shops.
“Lots of the explanation why I wished to maneuver again into the kitchen is to ensure that that connection to Sean is at all times honored,” Jett says. “I wish to protect that. I deal with this place like it’s my grandmother’s identify on the door.”
