Modern Soul Food, Traditional Roots

Barbara Jean LA Chef Jason Fullilove puts his inventive spin on classic African-American comfort cuisine

- Avis Weathersbee

“CRAVEABLE.” That’s the word that frequently peppered the responses of energetic chef Jason Fullilove when talking about his modern soul food restaurant, Barbara Jean LA.

And truth be told, just eyeing the selections on his inventive menu is enough to start your mouth watering and bring on cravings for foods your mom or grandmother used to make. Fried chicken, greens, shrimp and grits, mac ‘n’ cheese … they’re all there, but with twists and tweaks that offer up a little something different.

“My grandmother was definitely my cooking inspiration,” Fullilove says. “I just always looked forward to eating her food.” His grandmother’s bountiful table was in Cleveland, where Fullilove is from originally. “I went to high school in Amherst [Massachusetts], where my mother got her doctorate. Every summer and vacation and springtime and Thanksgiving and Christmas we would go home to Cleveland to my grandmother’s house, and I would look forward to [her cooking].”

But if his grandmother gave him a taste for classic soul food, his mom gets the credit for first giving him a taste of the world that would ultimately influence his work as a chef.