Executive Chef Jared Secor grew up locally in the Hudson Valley. He was raised with a central focus on local agriculture and wine education and spent his high school years working at Adam’s Fairacre Farms and in local Hudson Valley kitchens. Living down the road from the Culinary Institute of America set him on a path to professionally pursue his passion for creating innovative dishes that celebrate local ingredients.
Following his graduation from CIA in 2003, Jared relocated to North Carolina to serve as Banquet Chef at Pinehurst Resort at just 20 years old. At Pinehurst, he executed numerous prestigious events, including the US Open of Golf in 2005, becoming an expert in luxury weddings and special events. After leaving the resort in 2006, he joined Chef Warren’s locally acclaimed restaurant in Southern Pines, NC. This small family restaurant with an open kitchen specialized in wild game and boasted a local garden that supplied most of the kitchen’s produce, nurturing Jared’s deep childhood connection to local menus.
In 2010, Jared moved to the center of the food world: New York City. He helped launch the Italian Megastore Eataly in Manhattan as Sous Chef at Mario Batali’s Manzo fine dining restaurant. In 2012, shortly after Hurricane Sandy, Chef Jared and his wife, Amanda, who is also a CIA-trained Chef, moved down south for a short time to open a restaurant in Charleston, SC.
The couple quickly realized New York was home and moved back to the Hudson Valley for a few years, where they ran a busy historic private golf club together in Dutchess County. Jared served as the Food & Beverage Director and eventually General Manager, working closely with all the departments to execute club restaurant operations, private event sales and golf outings.
In 2016, Jared and Amanda again relocated to New York City, where Jared served as a multi-unit Restaurant Manager with Happy Cooking Hospitality Group in the West Village. The bustling NYC setting enriched Jared’s wine education and honed his ability to produce exceptional, personalized guest experiences, a touchstone of Happy Cooking Hospitality.
Jared joined the team at Abbey Inn and Spa in the late Summer of 2020, bringing his personal touch and care to all of the Abbey’s guests. Jared is passionate about bringing his knowledge and adoration of the Hudson Valley to the hotel’s patrons, event hosts and guests.