Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Forrest Jackson learned his way around the kitchen at a young age from his grandfather, Baps. While at Auburn University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, he also learned how to cook in a restaurant setting. Forrest joined the team at Amsterdam Café in Auburn, Alabama, starting as a prep cook and quickly moving up to line cook. Upon graduation, he chose to pursue a career as a chef and leave a financial career behind. Forrest moved to New Orleans in 2014. After staging with different restaurant groups in the city, Forrest found his home at Herbsaint in 2015. He worked his way through the ranks from line cook, to sous chef, to executive sous chef in just three years. In 2018, Forrest moved to Herbsaint’s sister restaurant, Cochon, to gain experience as a sous chef. In late 2020, in the middle of one of the most challenging years for the restaurant industry, Forrest was promoted to Chef de Cuisine of Cochon Butcher.