MIAMI HEAT
Chef Amaris Jones Signature Hot Honey Fried Chicken is Attracting Celebs in South Florida
iami-based chef,
restaurateur, and
entrepreneur
Amaris Jones has brought a new definition of heat back to Miami, with Chick’n Jones. Jones’ signature hot - honey fried chicken has been creating quite the buzz. Grammy-nominated rap artist Rick Ross attributes his 80 pounds weight loss to the magic Chef Amaris Jones cooked up for him when she served as his personal chef.
Jones found her passion for food and cooking at a very young age. Before she could walk and talk Jones was experiencing the joy food brought, whether that was bringing families together or the exploration of ingredients and their flavors.
Jones grew up in her father's storefront church, which was one of the first Black-owned storefront churches in Philly. From there, she watched women from her community cook extravagant dinners in the basement, and one of her fondest memories happens to be traveling the country on church retreats tasting all the different foods from the states they traveled to.
Though Jones had a passion for food, she never expected that it would become a career for her. She attended college as a radio/television/film major hoping it would open the doors to the entertainment world she was desperate to become a part of. After graduating from college, Jones decided to pursue a different path - in real estate. What seemed like a detour, helped her to network with the right people. One of her first estate and lifestyle management businesses began with Sean “Diddy '' Combs and Timbaland, which later led to her managing multiple multimillion-dollar estate houses in Florida. While working as a personal estate manager, Jones had met many guests staying at the residence, there one request was for great soul food and live music. Spots like this were few and far between in the Miami area, and with her love of hospitality and food, Amaris knew she could fill the void and realize her true destiny. She was able to transform her family's comfort food recipes to a full menu for others to enjoy in her very first restaurant, South Street, which was appointed the first Southern Soul concept in the “Rodeo Drive” of Miami. Her food here has been tasted by A- list celebrities from Martha Stewart to Lenny Kravitz and Lebron James. You can find this crowd drawing restaurant located in what once was Miami’s first post offices, in the savvy Design District.
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