Meet the Owner

BECKY CLARK

Becky spent her childhood collecting ramps, gardening, hunting, and homesteading with her family in central West Virginia. She moved to Athens for high school, graduated from Ohio University, then made her way to the Pacific Northwest to attend culinary school at the Art Institute of Portland. From there, she sought out internship opportunities to refine her butchery and culinary skills. These experiences took her to Cure, where she was taken under the wing of award-winning chef and salumist, Justin Severino. Later she ran the protein program at Bar Marco under Chef Jamilka Borges. After several years, she felt the pull to return home to Athens County and her family. Becky knew that she wanted to bring her abilities and passion for food home, and began working on a concept that she hoped would benefit her community. Before settling in to Athens, Becky did some traveling and took a cross-country bike ride - which gave her a lot of time to think - and the idea of Pork & Pickles was born.

Becky acted as the Executive Chef at Little Fish Brewing Company along with her work with Pork & Pickles from 2018-2023. She recently stepped into a part-time advisory role to Little Fish and handed the reigns of EC over to her longtime Sous Chefs Zach Morgan (Dayton location) and Jennifer Sartwell (Athens location). Becky sits on the Community Food Initiatives Board, and is an avid supporter of many local organizations such as Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Rural Action, and the Athens Farmers Market. While not at work you can find her trail running with her dogs (Pippy and Woody), cycling, gardening, cooking and eating with her fiancé Chris, or spending time with her family and friends, and cat, Bernie.

Pork & Pickles has morphed from a full-fledged product line and restaurant with 8+ employees to a brand that gives Becky the opportunity to engage with her community on many different levels; non-profit work, business consulting, freelance marketing, teaching, private chef work, and mentoring of younger cooks.