About Jack's

From his distinctive Southern drawl to his trademark duds - denim bib overalls and a red and white truckers cap heralding "Save the Farm",- Jack McDavid is a "good ol' boy" with a unique recipe for success.  After establishing Jack's Firehouse and his Down Home Diner, he starred in the TV Food Network's, "Grillin' and Chillin'" with his pal Bobby Flay.

Jack decided on a career as a chef, honing skills in more than 30 restaurants during the 1970's and early '80s.  He learned classical French technique, as well as discipline, at Washington's bastion of French cuisine, Le Lion D'Or.  There, he bacame proficient at every station in the kitchen of Jean-Pierre Goyenvalle.  In 1984, he moved to Philadelphia to continue his culinary profession at the world-renowned Le Bec-Fin.  It was Georges Perrier who inspired the young budding entrepreneur.

Jack opened his first restaurant, the Down Home Diner, in March of 1987, at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.  He wowed patrons with inexpensive, inventive dishes like cornbread pizza with Tennessee ham and chicken-fried buffalo steak with red-eye gravy.  In November 1989, he opened Jack's Firehouse in the Fairmount area of Philadelphia featuring "haute country" cuisine.

Jack's resolutely American regional style is clearly defined by his commitment to using products that are locally grown and raised.