Over 20 years ago I was graduating from the University of Tennessee and planning for a few months in South America to settle my mind and make decisions about my future. My dream was to be a chef, but the practical, expected decision was a career in law.

One year later I found myself beginning my first year of law school, which led to a 15-year legal career in the financial world in Nashville and here back home in Knoxville. I experienced a great deal of success but it never calmed my creative drive.

As my wife’s career flourished, I was able to retire from law and took a few years deciding on my next steps. In 2020, in the middle of a pandemic and a world filled with chaos, I was accepted to the UT Culinary and Catering program and was able to fulfill a dream I’d laid aside two decades prior.

After working for several years in the Knoxville area by cooking in and managing kitchens owned by other chefs, in 2023 I decided it was time to step out on my own and use my skills in a different way.

The Farmer’s Kitchen is born out of my love for my family’s 85-acre farm in South Knoxville and my desire to bring delicious food to everyone’s comfortable home.

— Bronce Rodgers, chef & owner