Jasper Kenneth White Jr. (May 28, 1954 – May 11, 2024) was an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He was considered a leading authority on the

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

and food industry of New England, with a particular focus on seafood.

Early life and education

Jasper White was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...

on May 28, 1954. He credited his Italian grandmother with his interest in food. White enrolled at

The Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...

in June 1975 and graduated in 1976. In 1979, he met Lydia Shire, another aspiring chef. They worked together at many of the respected hotel dining rooms in Boston such as The Copley Plaza, The Parker House, and The Bostonian Hotel. Shire considers White to be her mentor, and "her best cook friend in the world."

Restaurants

In 1983, he opened Jasper's, a restaurant on Boston's waterfront. Here, he "carved out a niche in the local food scene deconstructing classics on his haute cuisine menu." It was described as "a Boston, MA landmark famous for seafood and other New England specialties ... (leading) people who thought he was inextricably linked with upscale cuisine." Jasper's closed in 1995; White closed the restaurant so he could spend time with his children. For three years afterwards, he was a consultant to Legal Seafoods. White opened Jasper White's Summer Shack in May 2000 in the Alewife section of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The restaurant also has locations at

Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is owned and operated by the fe ...

and in Boston's Back Bay. There is a seasonal location on Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor. The Summer Shack allowed him to "return to his culinary true love of hearty family-style cuisine: authentic and flavorful–not fussy (and) embrace his unpretentious roots." Even though it is meant to be like a seaside clam shack, one gourmet dish from Jasper's is on the menu, and it is the one for which he is most famous – pan-roasted lobster. Summer Shack was sold to the Lyons Group in 2017 and White was no longer involved in the business.

Personal life and death

White and his wife, Nancy, were married for 28 years and raised his 3 Children, Mariel, Jasper, and Hayley. He later remarried, Kathleen, who had 3 children of her own. He died at a hospital in Boston from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm on May 11, 2024, at age 69.

Cookbooks

* ''Jasper White's Cooking from New England'' (1989) * ''Lobster at Home'' (1998) * ''Fifty Chowders'' (2000) * ''The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food'' (2007)

Awards and honors

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

for Best Chef: Northeast. * In 2000, the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

nominated The Summer Shack for Best New Restaurant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Jasper 1954 births 2024 deaths American cookbook writers American male non-fiction writers Writers from Orange, New Jersey Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni American restaurateurs American male chefs Restaurant founders American chief executives of food industry companies James Beard Foundation Award winners Chefs from Massachusetts American people of Italian descent