Philadelphia-native Jennifer Carroll is the executive chef and partner at Spice Finch , a modern Mediterranean restaurant and bar located in the Rittenhouse neighborhood at 220 S 17th St. She is also the owner and executive chef of Carroll Couture Cuisine , a catering and consulting company that has traveled worldwide to create delicious experiences for almost a decade.
After attending Philadelphia’s Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in 1996, Carroll worked at Chef Derek Davis’ Sonoma and Arroyo Grill, as well as Neil Stein’s Avenue B under Chef Patrick Feury. She then spent time in the kitchens at both Julia and Café Kati, under chefs Julia McClaskey and Kirk Webber in San Francisco as sous chef. Shortly after, Carroll moved to New York City in 2003 and began training under three Michelin star chef Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin, where she worked for 9 years. During that time, she was tapped by Ripert to become the chef de cuisine at his 10 Arts restaurant.
In 2014, she began working with chef Marcus Samuelsson at the Red Rooster in Harlem and launched his Bermuda Samuelsson at Hamilton Princess. In September 2015 Carroll and her fiancé, chef Billy Riddle, moved to the nation’s capital, where she designed and built French-M editerranean restaurant Requin.
Most recently, Carroll returned to Philly to fulfill her long-time dream of planting culinary roots in the town she has always called home. In July 2018, she and Riddle opened Spice Finch together where they showcase dishes inspired by the herbs and spices of the nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea.