Chef Jeffrey Forrest

Chef Jeffrey Forrest’s passion for cooking began at the age of seventeen when joining the United States Marine Corps.  Upon his completion of duty, he moved to Rhode Island where he received his culinary degree from the Rhode Island School of Design.  While attending school, Jeffrey worked at many restaurants including chef at City Lights and Wyatt’s Rotisserie.  In 1990, he moved to New York to further pursue his passion for food.  He worked at several restaurants including: Nosmo King as Saucier and Chef de Partie; Zoe; Le Cirque under Chef Daniel Boulud and Chef Sylvain Portay as Grillardin and as a Sous Chef & 9 Jones Street as Sous Chef.  He then went on to work for Robert and Linda Taubman as a personal chef in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  The Taubman family are real-estate investors and owners of Sotheby’s.   Knowing his passion is in the restaurant industry, Jeffrey moved to Florida for the position as Corporate Chef of The Loop Restaurant Group in Jacksonville.  He also worked as Chef de Cuisine at Stella’s Piano Café and as Chef de Cuisine at White Oak Plantation in 

Yulee, FL.

In 2002, Jeffrey ventured on his own to open the restaurant Crush in Jacksonville, FL. It was a French Bistro featuring contemporary specials and French, Spanish, and Italian wine selections. It was named one of the “Top 25” restaurants by Jacksonville Magazine and “Best Restaurant Period” by Jacksonville Magazine’s readers’ poll.  Upon leaving his restaurant in 2004, Jeffrey moved to NC where he worked in Asheville and Charlotte at several restaurants.  Knowing he would always want to open another restaurant of his own, he opened Lilli in April of ‘08 in Franklin, NC.