By April Lisante

This spring is an exciting time for one local chef who hit the big time.

Jennifer Carroll, a Mount Saint Joseph Academy class of ’93 alum who has spent the better part of her career bringing her unique flavors to Philly restaurants and to the television screen, will host a pop-up James Beard House dinner at her Rittenhouse Square restaurant, and she will be starring next month, starting on March 19, in L.A. on Bravo’s “Top Chef: All Stars.” This will mark her third appearance on the show.

“I am full-on competing for another season with 14 chefs,” said Carroll, speaking this week in between a rigorous schedule at her Mediterranean restaurant, Spice Finch.

Carroll made a name for herself on the show as a finalist in season six in Las Vegas. She grew up in Somerton, in the Northeast, but her stomping grounds as a teen were in Chestnut Hill. The middle of three sisters, she and her siblings all attended The Mount and spent most of their time in Chestnut Hill. She spent her teen years cooking everything from pizzas to funnel cakes at various local haunts.

“I always loved cooking,” Carroll said. “I’d cook with my grandma and my mom, baking pies. We have a huge extended family.” 

When Carroll graduated from The Mount in 1993, she headed to college at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and then St. Joseph’s University, as a pre-law major. 

But something didn’t feel right.

“I missed the rush and excitement of restaurants,” she said.

Three years into her college career, she made the decision to attend the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College to solidify her dream.

In the mid to late-90s, she began her tutelage at her first job as sous chef at Sonoma in Manayunk, with chef-owner Derek Davis.

From there, she helped Neil Stein open Avenue B in Center City, headed out to Berwyn to work with star chef Patrick Feury at Nectar, and then headed to San Francisco to “spread her wings” before returning to New York City for a nine-year stint at the epic Le Bernardin, where she learned French technique.

“I wanted to come back to the East Coast,” she said.

After spending time in New York, she returned to Philly at the Ritz Carlton’s 10 Arts Bistro & Lounge with chef Eric Ripert, and she also opened a catering and consulting company in Washington, D.C., called Carroll Couture Cuisine, which pulls from food cultures around the world to create pop-up dinners, private events and classes.

“It’s wherever we want to go,” she said.

Though she’s owned the catering company for about 10 years, she debuted her restaurant Spice Finch in 2018, and she now calls Philadelphia home. She opened the resto-bar Spice Finch with her fiance Billy Riddle, hoping to bring fresh Mediterranean cuisine to Philly. She and Riddle are thoughtful in their menu selections, offering authentic dishes like braised pork belly, harissa and kebabs.

“We cook the way we like to eat,” Carroll said. “We pull from spices and herbs.”

 No stranger to the pop-up dinner concept, Carroll also hosts a themed meal each month in Philly called “Supper,” where she will seat 24 to 32 people max at different venues to enjoy a multi-course meal and stimulating conversation, even meditation.

“It’s a new venue with a theme, drinks and a multi-course meal,” she said.

But perhaps the highlight of her spring will arrive April 14. This year, for the first time ever, the James Beard House will take its prestigious chef dinner, which typically is hosted in New York City, on the road to restaurants around the country. The Foundation chose Spice Finch as one of just a select few across the country to host the dinner. 

Carroll and her restaurant co-owner, Billy Riddle, will host the dinner with visiting chef Vishwesh Bhatt, the James Beard 2019 winner of “Best Chef South.” These new James Beard Foundation’s Taste America pop-up dinners aim to highlight foods in cities across the U.S. and Philadelphia is one of only 20 locations nationwide to receive this honor. 

“I am extremely honored that the James Beard House picked my restaurant, Spice Finch, to represent them in Philadelphia,” Carroll said. 

Tickets are on sale already, at $200 each. The dinner begins at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, at 220 S. 17th St. in Center City. For more information about the James Beard event, go to jamesbeard.org. Carroll’s stint on “Top Chef: All Stars” begins March 19 on Bravo at 10 p.m.