In a unique collaboration with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, each dinner in this series is presented by a Georgia Grown Chef and focuses on one of Georgia’s important crops or agricultural categories. Additionally, each dinner features a local farmer who can provide insight into farming in Georgia and answer questions. Attendees can interact with the chef-grower team while enjoying four tasting courses with wine in the Edible Garden Outdoor Kitchen at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Date: Thursday, October 10
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Fee: $100 (Member $95)
Registration Deadline: October 3
Instructor: Chef Jared Hucks
About Jared Hucks
A long and colorful journey led Chef Jared Hucks to open his namesake restaurant just a few miles from where he grew up. This journey took him across various corners of the globe—from the United States to South America, New Zealand to Australia, and Southeast Asia to Africa and Western Europe to Scandinavia—exposing him to diverse cultures and culinary training that enhanced his cooking sensibility, showcased nightly at his restaurant, The Alden.
Raised in what is now Brookhaven, Hucks was drawn to restaurant work after spending a summer working at his family’s restaurant, La Strada in Marietta. After high school, his love for alpine sports led him to Colorado, where he worked at various restaurants, ascending to Sous Chef at LaTour and the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa. Realizing the need for formal culinary training, he enrolled in The French Culinary Institute in New York City, graduating with honors.
While studying in New York, he had an opportunity to work at the acclaimed Baldoria Restaurant for the Pellegrino family.
With a solid culinary foundation, Hucks returned to Vail, serving as Chef de Cuisine at Chaps Grill and Chophouse. In 2006, seeking to broaden his culinary repertoire, Hucks sold everything and embarked on an 18-month gastronomic adventure worldwide.
His expedition began in Latin America, where he immersed himself in the local culture and cuisine. Following Central America, he toured and cooked in South America and New Zealand, eventually securing a year-long position as Chef de partie at the prestigious restaurant, Guillaume at Bennelong, located in the Sydney Opera House.
Hucks continued his journey through Southeast Asia, traveling extensively through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, deepening his understanding of the region’s cultures. He was then recruited by the Baan Rim Pa Restaurant Group in Phuket, Thailand, becoming Head Chef at Da Maurizio Restaurant, where he played a key role in enhancing its award-winning menu.
His tenure at Da Maurizio included training in Italy at Zi Peppe Restaurant and a gastronomic tour through Northern Italy. After achieving his dream of working and living in Europe, Hucks left Thailand to pursue a position in a renowned three-Michelin-star restaurant in Spain. Shortly after, he spent a year working at Restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian under celebrated chefs Juan Mari and Elena Arzak.
Hucks gained invaluable experience under Chef Juan Mari Arzak, known as the Godfather of New Basque cuisine, which led him to a stage at the world’s top-rated restaurant, NOMA in Denmark. He spent two months apprenticing in all kitchen areas before the restaurant’s annual closure and later collaborated with top Scottish chef Jim Cowey, recognized for his expertise in sustainable seafood.
What began as an 18-month journey transformed into a seven-year culinary education that shaped Hucks into the thoughtful and artistic chef he is today. Upon returning home, he launched Dogwood Table, a pop-up brand focused on “artful dining in artful spaces,” quickly gaining a devoted following.
In 2016, Hucks secured a lease for a space in Parkview on Peachtree, a new multi-use development in Chamblee, near his childhood home. By 2018, he opened The Alden, which he designed with input from his architect friend, Andy Amor, and his mother, Emily, featuring fixtures crafted by his brother, renowned glass artist Rob Stern.
In the five years since its opening, Chef Hucks has cultivated his own following, attracting guests nationwide to experience his inspired seven-course tasting menu. Dining at his Chef’s Counter allows guests to be immersed in a theatrical experience, enjoying a series of artistic culinary masterpieces. Additionally, Hucks has mentored several chefs, providing them with opportunities to grow in their craft, much like Chefs Guillaume Brahimi and Juan Mari Arzak did for him.
