Ladies and Gentlmen, Jason Heard.
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.
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.
Jason is no stranger to the East Coast Grill having been with us for the last 5 years. We look forward to the style and spice he will bring to his new position. Not to mention his Good Ole’ Boy Southern sweetness.
The East Coast Grill opened its doors on August, 18, 1985. At that point it seemed a pretty risky venture. Although my partner, Cary Wheaton, and I had plenty of restaurant experience, we had no business experience. Restaurants have high failure rates and a lot of folks didn’t think Inman Square was that good of a location. And you know what? If I had known then, what I know now, I definitely would have talked us out of doing such a crazy thing – but we were young, fearless, and had a dream of opening a restaurant.
Timing was everything. Our concept of a casual neighborhood restaurant featuring bold flavors and wood grilling would soon be very popular as the seemingly incongruous concept of casual “fine dining” was becoming an increasingly common expression of a new generation of cooks.
After having worked in a wide variety of kitchens from hotels to hash houses to 4 star restaurants, Cary and I strongly agreed on a couple of fundamental concepts, namedly that we would put equal attention on having outstanding food and a “relentlessly friendly” staff. I was totally frustrated with the pretense of food, and Cary by the formal style of service at some of the restaurants where we had been working. So the East Coast Grill was born and, as it turns out, I’d like to believe that our values have survived 20 years and that the Grill is still known for its lively food and conscientious staff.
Our food philosophy is inspired by a couple of different things. The “big flavors” profile comes from my misspent youthful travels in the tropics searching for waves and temperatures in the low 80’s, where I came to understand a diametrically different flavoring profile from the one typical of the classical European cuisine I was educated in.
My strong affection for seafood comes not only from my childhood years in coastal Virginia but also my relentless travel to different beaches of the world and the endless hours I’ve spent on the ocean in a feckless manner hoping to capture sea creatures.
As far as our reliance on grilling, I’m basically a pyromaniac who has managed to channel my habit into a socially constructive activity. My dad was a classic griller who taught me the fundamentals: It is always fun and it always tastes great. After a childhood of eating steaks burnt on the outside and raw on the inside I finally came to agree with my father, who proclaimed each and every meal off the grill to be the best yet.
Growing up in the South, it was impossible to avoid a strong connection to the regional foodway of BBQ. From eating at our local joint to my parents yearly pig pickin’s, the flavor and the technique and the associated good fellowship were indelibly wired into my culinary consciousness.
So you throw bright flavors, super-fresh seafood, live fire, and BBQ into a big pot and mix it up and you have the East Coast Grill… Over the years, we’ve been very lucky to work with many talented, dedicated, and hard-working folks who have gone on to distinguish themselves, not only in the food business, but also in a wide range of pursuits from writing to painting to acting and more. It is the spirit of hospitality that lies at the center of our success, along with a tolerant, curious, and diverse group of customers who over the years have given their support to us.
Thanks,
Chris