Inspired by farmers and their stories, local chef Hunter Evans creates food that combines Southern tradition with a modern approach.
Evans was born and raised in Jackson. After graduating from Jackson Academy, he attended the University of Mississippi, where he pursued a degree in hospitality management.
“I figured out I wanted to cook before going to Ole Miss, but my parents and I decided college was a good idea first,” he said.
He met a professor at Ole Miss who had graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. This encouraged Evans to follow a similar path, so he moved to New York to attend the Culinary Institute of America as well.
“I moved to Manhattan and worked in a restaurant for a year,” Evans said. “I figured if I could cook in New York, I could cook anywhere. It’s also fun to come back here and bring what I learned.”
His family had a lot of impact on his decision to pursue cooking as a career. He is the son of Karey and John Evans.
“I think a lot had to do with while growing up, my parents had people over for dinner all the time. Also, my grandmother lived in New Orleans, and when we would visit, there was always food. So, I think that’s something my mom carried with her.
“So, I was always around it and had a love for it. Right before I went to college, it clicked for me that this could be a career. I never had really thought about it like that. I didn’t think I could run a restaurant.”
Evans was influenced heavily by New Orleans cuisine.
“I love cooking seafood out of the Gulf,” he said. “I think one of the first things I cooked by myself was shrimp. Oysters, crab, shrimp, artichokes. I have a lot of New Orleans food memories.”
Four years ago Evans moved back home to be near his family and now his wife, Mary Kathryn.
“Also, I wanted to explore Mississippi food,” he said. “I grew up hunting and fishing, so being close to the food was important and exciting. Also, the seafood being this close to the Gulf.”
He is Chef de Cuisine at Lou’s Full Serve where he typically works post-lunch rush through dinner.
Besides southern influence and using southern ingredients, Asian cuisine is a close second favorite for Evans.
“I love cooking it, and I love learning about it. There’s so many ingredients in Asian culture. It’s fun to just explore all of the things they use.”
He also draws influence from his grandmother.
“My grandmother is Danish, and I would spend time talking to her about what she ate when she was little,” Evans said.
She told him about a pork roast they would eat, with skin still on it scored really fine and baked so that the skin would be like crackling.
“I did it with pork belly. It was a dish that felt very me and southern but inspired by my grandmother. So, those two worlds combined.”
If you were to ask Evans what he would eat for his last meal, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell you he’s a sucker for a good bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, with fresh grown summer tomatoes still warm, straight off the plant.
“Lots of mayo, some good bacon,” he said. “Definitely my death row meal choice right there.”
While cooking, some ingredients Evans has to have on hand are lemons, butter and Duke’s mayonnaise.
Chances are, when Evans is in the kitchen, you are likely to hear the tunes of Al Green or Stevie Wonder playing in the background.
When he is not working at Lou’s, he will do pop-ups at the Apothecary, serving a small themed menu, which they combine with cocktails and wine geared toward the same theme.
Even his hobbies and days off are influenced by his love of cooking and southern tradition, from collecting heirloom seeds to having a hand in starting the Belhaven Grilled Cheese Festival.
Evans recently started a project to reach out to farmers for heirloom seeds in Mississippi.
He now drives all over the state to pick up seeds Mississippi farmers have had in their families for decades. He gives the seeds to local farmers who he works with so they can grow them.
“Some of the seeds are over 100 years old that a man’s mother-in-law grew when she was a little girl,” he said.
His collection features white velvet okra a Mississippi farmer was gifted on his wedding day more than 50 years ago. He was given English pea seeds that came over from Africa through the slave trade and has made its way across the South.
The seed collection is part of Evans’ journey to find new, fresh ingredients for cooking.
While he is not a farmer himself, he is working to clear a section of his yard to hold a raised bed for seed harvesting. He is also building a chicken coop for four chickens.
Evans is one of the featured chefs for the Mississippi Food and Wine Festival, where he will use the products of those heirloom seeds for his creations.
He has plans for both the English peas and the white velvet okra. This will be the first meal he will cook with the heirloom seed produce.
Evans jokes that he calls the farmers often to check on his seeds.
“I’ll call after a storm or something and ask, ‘How are my plants doing?’” he said. “And they’ll tell me how big they’ve grown.”
His childhood memories also had a part in the creation of the Belhaven Grilled Cheese Festival.
He recalls spending time with some friends after a trip to Laurel Street Park in Belhaven. They talked about the need for festivals and fun things to do in Jackson. “Someone threw out the idea of grilled cheese,” he said.
And the idea grew from there.
“Everyone has a memory attached to that, and even if you aren’t a good cook, most people can make them,” he said. “It was a perfect fit to use the park.”
All the money that is made from the festival goes back to the park. The festival has doubled in size since its creation and features both home chefs and local chefs. “People love it and get all into it,” he said.
