City Grocery Restaurant Group owner Chef John Currence was recently featured in SoFAB Magazine for his role in revolutionizing the Southern culinary scene.
From the article:
Chef Robert St John in Hattiesburg and Chef Alex Perry in Ocean Springs are great examples, but the lead dog in this hunt seems to be Chef John Currence in Oxford. Born in Louisiana, he was first schooled in his mother’s kitchen, then as a deck hand and cook on a tug boat. This was followed by the University of North Carolina, and several years in Europe, and a dozen other small steps leading to Gautreau’s in New Orleans. But his feet finally landed in Oxford, Mississippi, and although he strays occasionally, that university town seems to have him well rooted.
Chef Currence is bright, articulate, and involved on just as many levels as he can be. I had the chance to spend a little time with him recently and our conversation was all over the place. He sees the need for better quality restaurants — and food — and quotes the changing statistics of dining out, the cost of food, and more like a stock broker assessing a portfolio. But it’s not rote memory, he is describing the things that he cares about deeply, things he is involved with everyday and about which he is very, very passionate.