Chef Richard Farmer, or Rick as his friends know him, developed an interest in the culinary arts at a young age. While in high school, he was hired by a small bar/restaurant as a part-time line cook. Soon, he was promoted to kitchen manager, a post he held until graduation. After high school, Rick decided to pursue a career in the restaurant business. He moved to Nashville, and helped create two other restaurants with a small group of friends. Rick’s responsibilities included creation of the menus, control of food cost, and restaurant design.

Rick was in Nashville for three years, until he received a call from his father, who was then residing in San Francisco, urging him to move west. In San Francisco, he met  the owner of MEMPHIS, a restaurant in New York. Soon thereafter, Rick moved to New York and worked as a grill cook.  MEMPHIS was one of the trendiest restaurants on the Upper West Side.

His big break came when New York’s Water Club hired him, under Chef Guy Peuch. Peuch, a Frenchman, liked Rick and encouraged him. There, he had the opportunity to learn classic cooking techniques, and prepare food for personalities like Barbara Walters, Eddie Murphy and Stevie Wonder. The Water Club also did catering for the “Paco Rabanne,” a yacht owned by the fragrance company of the same name, and which was moored at the Water Club.

Peuch later helped Rick get a “stage” at Le Maurice, in The Parker Meridien Hotel, in New York, where he worked under the famous French chef Christian Delouvrier (most recently of Ducasse NY). But The Water Club’s biggest contribution to Rick’s career was helping him to make the connections that would allow him to go to France, where he could learn cooking techniques first-hand, on the job, from seasoned French chefs.

Rick’s first job in France was at the Rôtisserie du Chambertin, a Michelin one-star restaurant, in the small town of Geverey-Chambertin, just south of Dijon, in the Côte d’Or region, along the “Route des Grands Crus”- known for its wines. He was there for 14 months- his beginning position was "plongeur" or potwasher, but quickly advanced to Chef Garde Manager, then Chef Poissonier, and finally, Chef des Banquets.

One of the banquets that stand out in Rick’s mind was at the renowned Château Clos de Vougeot, in Burgundy, where he, with a team of other chefs, was responsible for a dinner for 1200 people. By dividing the work into teams, with each team preparing one of five courses, the banquet was a success.
Later, he moved to Biarritz to Restaurant Marco, where he worked alongside two other chefs. The “Basque” food, with an emphasis on seafood, blended French and Spanish influences, which was a departure from the strictly traditional French cuisine he had experienced thus far in France. It was this position that influenced the way he thought about food, and afforded him the knowledge that he could cook to suit his own tastes.

 

Rick then continued his culinary visits through Switzerland, Spain and a brief but memorable trip to England.
While on holiday break in Memphis, he met his wife, and now partner, Barbara. Soon, they married, and Rick continued his culinary career in Memphis. He worked as Chef Poissonier and Chef Saucier at Chez Philippe under Chef José Gutierrez. From there, he moved to La Pâtisserie Bistro, Riverside and California Café.

He taught classes at Memphis Culinary Academy and was a culinary instructor for two years.  In June of 1994, he and Barbara were approached to take over the White Church Tea Room in Collierville, Tennessee.

In August 1994, in the space that had originally been La Pâtisserie Bistro, Rick and Barbara opened JARRETT’S, named for their son. Initially, the space was without a bar, but with the help of family and friends, they slowly renovated the space into what it is today. Within 6-8 months of opening JARRETT’S, the bistro became an East Memphis favorite.

JARRETT’S serves high quality regional American cuisine, based on fresh ingredients from all over the country and classic cooking techniques- with French, Asian, and American country accents. Rick says, “I don’t like a lot of rules, I like to create dishes my own way.” Obviously, his approach is working. Rick admits that while he enjoys educating his customers and introducing them to new foods, they have grown to trust him and know they can always count on an exquisite dining experience.
JARRETT’S was named “Best New Restaurant” by Memphis Magazine in 1994, the year it opened, and has been on Commercial Appeal restaurant critic Frederic Koeppel’s 10 Top Memphis Restaurants list for the past ten years. In addition, Jarrett's has placed in the top two, in the Memphis Magazine readers poll, consistently for the past ten years.

The Farmers support the Memphis Food Bank, SOS, Le Bonheur children’s Hospital, the Aloysius Home, St. Jude’s Hospital, the March of Dimes, United Cerebral Palsy, the YMCA and YWCA, WKNO- public television and radio,  The James Beard House and other charities and causes.