Chef Jared Hucks from The Alden will prepare a four-part menu with wines to enhance the flavors of seasonal and local produce in the Edible Garden Outdoor Kitchen at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Registration opens to the public on April 7 via the Outdoor Kitchen phone line. Registrations are processed in the order they are received.
Please note: Circles Members receive early registration access in March, and these popular dinners often sell out during that period. For dinners that may already be sold out by April 7, one can join the waitlist at the link below. To learn more about becoming a Circles Member, visit atlantabg.org/join.
Schedule: Select Tuesdays, April – October, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Fee: $150 per person ($840 any six dinners)
Registration: Call 404-876-5859 ext. 2559
About Chef Jared Hucks
A very long and colorful road led Chef Jared Hucks to open his namesake restaurant just a few short miles from where he grew up. That road wound through all corners of the globe – from across the States to South America, New Zealand to Australia, Southeast Asia to Africa and Western Europe to Scandinavia– and the cultures and culinary training he was exposed to along the way gave him the next-level culinary sensibility he showcases nightly at his restaurant, The Alden.
Growing up in the Atlanta suburb of what is now Brookhaven, Hucks was drawn to restaurant work while spending a summer after his first year in college, working at the family-owned La Strada Restaurant in Marietta. After graduating High School, his love for alpine sports and the outdoors led him to Colorado, where he worked at several restaurants, eventually rising to Sous Chef at both LaTour and the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa. During this period, Hucks realized he wanted formal culinary training to cultivate his passion, so he enrolled in The French Culinary Institute in New York City, where he later graduated with honors.
While studying in New York, he had the chance to work for the Pellegrino family at their highly acclaimed Baldoria Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.
With a strong culinary foundation, Hucks returned to Vail, where he served as Chef de Cuisine at the four-diamond Chaps Grill and Chophouse. In 2006, seeking new experiences, Chef Hucks made the life-changing decision to sell everything he owned and embark on what was intended to be an 18-month gastronomic adventure around the world.
His journey began in Latin America, where he immersed himself in culture and food, conversing with locals and trying spices, ingredients, and dishes he had never encountered before. After a brief exploration of Central America, Hucks traveled through South America and New Zealand, ultimately securing a year-long position as Chef de Partie at the acclaimed restaurant Guillaume at Bennelong, located in the Sydney Opera House.
His adventures continued in Southeast Asia, with extensive travel through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, where he learned about the local cultures. Hucks was then recruited by the Baan Rim Pa Restaurant Group as Head Chef at Da Maurizio Restaurant in Phuket, Thailand, where he spent two years enhancing the quality of Da Maurizio’s award-winning menu.
Hucks’ time at Da Maurizio included a trip to Italy for training at the kitchen of Zi Peppe Restaurant outside of Rome, along with a gastronomic tour through the northern region of the country. With a long-standing desire to work and live in Europe, it was during this time in Italy that he began planning his return, aiming to work at one of the world’s most celebrated restaurants. A year later, Hucks departed Thailand to pursue his ambition at a 3 Michelin star restaurant in Spain. Shortly thereafter, he was invited to work for a year at Restaurant Arzak in San Sebastián, Spain, under internationally celebrated chefs Juan Mari and Elena Arzak.
Hucks spent that year absorbing knowledge and refining his craft under Chef Juan Mari Arzak, known as the Godfather of New Basque cuisine. Arzak was impressed with Hucks’ talents and played a crucial role in helping him secure a position he had been dreaming of at the number one rated restaurant in the world, NOMA, in Denmark. Hucks apprenticed, working in various kitchen roles for two months before the restaurant closed for its annual break. He then cooked alongside one of Scotland’s leading chefs, Jim Cowey, renowned for his sustainable seafood expertise.
What began as an 18-month journey transformed into a seven-year global gastronomic education that shaped Hucks into the thoughtful, artistic chef he is today. Upon returning home, he launched Dogwood Table, a pop-up brand focused on “artful dining in artful spaces,” where his conceptualized artistic food attracted a dedicated following.
In 2016, he secured a lease in Parkview on Peachtree, a newly developed multi-use space in Chamblee, not far from his Brookhaven childhood home. By 2018, Hucks opened The Alden, designed with the assistance of his architect friend Andy Amor and his mother, Emily, with fixtures and blown glass artwork crafted by his brother, internationally acclaimed glass artist Rob Stern.
In the five years since opening, Chef Hucks has built a loyal following, with guests traveling from across the country to experience his inspired seven-course tasting menu. Guests gather around the Chef’s Counter, immersed in the theatrical experience, savoring one artistic masterpiece after another.
Hucks has mentored several chefs, echoing the guidance he received from Chefs Guillaume Brahimi and Juan Mari Arzak. His passion for nurturing talent and providing a platform for chefs to experiment and grow in their craft is prominently displayed at The Alden.
