Jason French

The Climb

Geography shaped the early frame of Jason French’s work. He was born and raised on the East coast, and his upbringing moved through DC, New York, and Maine in a political household tied to fundraising. That mix of places and pace reads less like backstory than training in how to register context: where things come from, how they move, and how they change once they meet heat. The Portland years began in 2008, when Jason French became chef and educator at Ned Ludd / Elder Hall at Ned Ludd, a role he held until 2021. The title reflected the work itself. Kitchen and classroom were never separate lanes for him; teaching had already been part of his practice, and in Portland it remained embedded in the daily discipline of service.

Today

Wood fire and seasonality defined the cooking associated with Jason French’s Portland period. At Ned Ludd, the oven was the organizing tool, not an accent. It shaped vegetables, fish, desserts, and preserved elements alike, giving the menu a direct line from source to finish and keeping the work anchored in what the kitchen could do with heat, timing, and restraint. A garden behind the restaurant extended that system. With local markets and farms supplying the rest, the small plot tightened the interval between harvest and service. Seasonality here was operational, not rhetorical: what grew nearby, what came in from producers, and what the oven could handle that day all sat inside the same cycle.

Signature

Jason’s signature dishes include House pickle plate, Whole roasted trout, Oven-kissed chocolate chip cookie, Oven-poached ling cod with leeks, and chanterelles & currants. Taken together, they show a kitchen working across preservation and immediacy, with fire as a constant and the ingredient list kept legible.

In Their Words “I was teaching culinary school in Boulder, Colorado and I was having an awesome lifestyle, but I was like itching to get back in the kitchen.” “I grew up between DC, New York, and Maine in a pretty political household — the world of fundraising.”

Recognition

Jason’s honors include James Beard Scholarship.