After graduating from Fairfield University in Connecticut with a BS in Sociology, chef Jeff Pond moved to Boston to pursue a culinary education at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Finishing at the top of his class, Pond joined the kitchen team at Barbara Lynch’s No. 9 Park, before moving on to Fleet Bank’s Executive Dining Room. Pond spent the next two years working as a personal chef, traveling from Cohasset to the Berkshires, and from Miami to Toronto.

Back in the Boston area, Pond was named Chef de Cuisine at Southborough’s award-winning Tomasso Trattoria & Enoteca, where he was responsible for their scratch bread program and pastry department. He also helped open the restaurant’s neighboring retail operation, Panzano Provviste e Vino.

In early 2008, Pond headed into the heart of the city to open Persephone with chef Michael Leviton of West Newton’s Lumière. Housed in the striking Summer Street storefront of The Achilles Project, a super hip lifestyle boutique, Persephone featured a seasonally-inspired menu of small to mid-sized plates made with local, sustainable ingredients wherever possible. Following that, Pond joined the team at Lumière as Chef de Cuisine before partnering with The Achilles Project’s Michael Krupp to open Area Four.