JeffHBiopic.jpg

JEFF HILL, Founder

Having grown up in the Valley and later graduating from James Madison University, Local Chop & Grill House’s founder, Jeff Hill was truly a local gentleman. After college, Jeff spent his young-adult life traveling through Europe and living in Colorado and Montana, all while learning the complexities of the culinary world and its intricate dance with fine dining.

“Be where you are, and don’t try to be what you are not,” Jeff explains. The Local Chop & Grill House has an honest approach to food with an understanding that not everything can be local. Here, farm-to-table food is taken to new heights and all of the locally-sourced produce is labeled as such. The Local Chop & Grill House stands behind this philosophy, and proudly supports the local farmers who have always made Harrisonburg the great culinary city that it is.

RYAN ZALE, Executive Chef & Co-Owner

Ryan, originally from Ohio, attended culinary school at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh, PA. Following graduation, Ryan began his career as Sous Chef at the Pittsburgh Fish Market. His impressive resume also includes Assistant Banquet Chef at the Villa Christina in Atlanta, Georgia, the Executive Chef at Grille on Seventh in Pittsburgh, and two years at the Inn at Little Washington where he worked his way through every position on the line.

When LOCAL Chop & Grill House opened in 2009, Ryan was the Executive Chef and helped to lead the charge in bringing a true farm to table experience to the Valley. Ryan’s leadership and design of both line and menu was a huge part of the ongoing success of the LOCAL Chop. To this day, Ryan’s cooking philosophies and approach to food has helped to shape the culture of identifying and highlighting both the craftsmen who provide the products we serve and the vitality of our beloved Shenandoah Valley.