As his career progresses, Memphis native Raymond Jackson has been hired, rehired, and promoted by two leading American chefs over and over again: Emeril Lagasse and Norman Van Aken. Jackson externed and then worked for two years as a line cook at Emeril's flagship restaurant in New Orleans upon graduating from ICE in 1995, and from there went on to working with Norman Van Aken in Miami for another two years. He then returned to New York to work at the Crabtree's Kittle House in Chappaqua and at the Stanhope Park Hyatt in Manhattan, which gave him the opportunity to cook at the James Beard House. In 2002, he rejoined the Emeril restaurant empire at Tchoup Chop in Orlando, Florida, where he stayed until August 2005. Then it was back to working with Van Aken, as Chef de Cuisine at Carysfort Grille, in the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. Jackson's first incarnation in accounting saw him graduating from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Of his experience at ICE, Jackson says "The exposure to the basics piqued my interest to know more. The strong fundamentals I learned prepared me extremely well to adapt to many different cuisines and techniques."

2006