Jasper White

chef, founder, Summer Shacks

Jasper White began his cooking career in 1973, and after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he spent several years working and traveling around the United States. Before settling in Boston, Jasper worked in New York, Florida, California, Washington state, and Montana. In 1979, he met aspiring chef Lydia Shire, and together they presided over some of Boston's venerable hotel kitchens including The Copley Plaza, The Parker House and The Bostonian Hotel. These three hotels were the core of a Renaissance in the Boston restaurant scene at that time, but it was at the Bostonian Hotel in 1982 that Jasper and Lydia together introduced Boston to contemporary American cooking. Jasper's extensive research into the historical and cultural aspects of New England foodways, as well as his more than 30 years of cooking experience, have made him a trusted authority on New England foods, especially seafood.