Jason Heard started cooking as a young boy during summer vacations in his Grandmother Clarice's kitchen in College Park, Georgia. It was a rule in her house that if you were in her kitchen you had to be working, and Jason's daily chores included prepping biscuit dough and picking and cleaning okra, tomatoes, squash, peppers, peaches, melons and any other vegetable or fruit available in the family garden.
As the son of an US Army officer, Jason spent his school years in military bases all over the world, which led to Jason's exposure to a variety of different foods, cooking styles and a taste for incorporating new ingredients and techniques into some of his favorite family recipes.
Jason moved back to Georgia and worked at local restaurants around Savannah and Atlanta before settling in Key West for an 11-year stint cooking at several Caribbean influenced restaurants.
In 2003, Jason made his first move north of the Mason Dixon line to Boston, where he got married and started a family. After three years of cooking in the city, Jason found his ideal opportunity in East Coast Grill, which combines his passion for BBQ and respect for Southern-based recipes and ingredients with creative incorporation of other cuisines and cooking styles from around the world.