Photo by Kelli S. Hewett.
Jahaad Jackson of Vestavia Hills is the new executive chef of Ocean in Birmingham's Five Points South.
Jahaad Jackson of Vestavia Hills is the new executive chef of the long-established fine-dining seafood restaurant Ocean in Birmingham's Five Points South.
On Saturday nights at Ocean in Birmingham’s Five Points South, Executive Chef Jahaad Jackson sends out hickory-smoked Hokkaido scallops and Thai green curry bouillabaisse, watching for the moment guests take a second bite and stop talking.
On Sundays at Jackson family dinners, the menu shifts to comfort — think meatloaf, corned beef or chili — for equally discerning palates.
“If they give you more than one bite in a row, you know, you’ve got them,” said Jackson, 31, of Vestavia Hills.
At home, though, the feedback is more direct.
“They’re going to tell you, ‘Maybe a little less ketchup next time,’ or ‘Needs more salt,’” he said with a chuckle. “When we get it right here at the restaurant or I get it right at home, it still feels the same — and it does mean more to me when it comes from the people that I love.”
Now Jackson is tasked with steering one of Birmingham’s longest-running fine-dining seafood restaurants into a new era that includes fierce restaurant competition and a delicate balance of history and new beginnings.
Photos by Kelli S. Hewett.
Jahaad Jackson in the Ocean kitchen
Jahaad Jackson, the new executive chef at Ocean in Birmingham’s Five Points South, cooks with the same drive he once brought to the football field: high octane, fast paced and always going for the second bite.
Jackson steps into the role long held by his mentor, founding chef-owner George Reis, who launched the concept in 2002 — before Jackson was even in middle school. Jackson first visited Ocean as a teen for a birthday celebration, having no idea how he would later return.
The former three-sport Vestavia Hills athlete (football, wrestling and track) graduated in 2013. He then played football at Howard University and rugby for UAB.
Now he is the one calling plays in the Ocean kitchen, and the rhythm reminds him of his sports days.
“It is exactly what I thought it would be: high octane, fast paced, quick thinking,” Jackson said.
In February, Ocean changed hands to new owner Chloe Kidd, 24, after she came in as a secret shopper. Thinking Reis had created her food, it was actually Jackson. The choice to elevate him was easy.
“It was amazing,” Kidd said of the food that first night. “He actually really cared for the place, and it was more than just a job to him.”
But for Jackson, the path to a culinary career was more of an eventual discovery than a lifelong calling.
Raised by a single mother (longtime CBS 42 evening news anchor Sherri Jackson), Jackson was fed daily by a babysitter who cooked him full home‑cooked meals. His grandmother turned holidays into soul‑food feasts. Add in some talented aunts and uncles, and Jackson had a rock-solid foundation in great food.
In high school, he was the kid whose Spanish class meal project was so good his teacher asked for the recipe. And in addition to playing football, he won multiple categories at the Vestavia Hills High School “BBQ the Bucs” competition, a yearly charity event for the big football game against the rival Hoover Buccaneers.
Still, food was just a hobby.
Photo by Kelli S. Hewett.
Chef Jahaad Jackson Ocean with a finished dish
Chef Jahaad Jackson Ocean with a finished dish.
Fast forward to just before the pandemic, and Jackson got a job bartending for Reis’ other concept, 5 Point Public House, located under Ocean until it closed in 2023.
He earned an associate degree in economics from Lawson State Community College and toyed with a social media marketing degree.
“But there was no passion in any of it for me,” Jackson said.
After his grandmother’s death, her advice stuck: “‘If you’re not having fun doing something, it’s not worth it.’ So I decided to go all in on cooking because I enjoyed it,” Jackson said.
He enrolled in culinary school, just in time for the COVID shutdown to derail the program. After a year of COVID unemployment, Ocean called him back, and he eventually became sous chef.
“I still want to keep the soul of this place alive,” Jackson said. “I’m committed to keeping some of the things the same. But I am updating, consolidating and trying to make the menu more focused, refined, sharp.”
Patrons can expect a gradual renovation, a new pastry chef and a return of some Ocean classics, such as the lobster rangoons. Other menu surprises are coming, Jackson said.
“I’m trying to balance the old with the new,” he said. “I hope it signals a bright future for us — a new wave, if you will, for Ocean.”
