Cassy Jones comes from a long line of great home cooks, but her dream of becoming a professional cook always seemed out of reach. "I have a daughter in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy, and so I ran my own daycare for 15 years," said Jones. "I had children that had different medical issues because regular daycares wouldn't accept them." At the encouragement of her children, she enrolled in culinary school at the age of 40 and started a new career as a personal chef and caterer. Jones loves to create traditional southern dishes with a modern twist. Her cooking represents a blend of her country roots and her urban influences; she loves to try new recipes as well as updating original recipes to her taste and style.

When Jones applied to be part of the State Fair of Texas in 2013, she managed to skip the infamous wait list and landed a booth on the Midway the same year she applied, due in part to her Fried Collard Greens recipe. This twist on a traditional Southern favorite quickly made her a Fair favorite and it remains her best-selling item today. In 2015, she entered a recipe for a Deep Fried Alligator Egg into the Big Tex Choice Awards and landed in the finals. The dish blends alligator meat with Monterey Jack cheese, chopped jalapeños, onions and garlic. It’s then rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried and served on top of a “nest” of shoestring potatoes and drizzled with a spicy Remoulade sauce. “This dish will make you feel like a real ragin’ Cajun!” the Fair says. Her infectious laugh and Southern charm landed her as a contestant on an episode of Guy Fieri's grocery store-themed game show Guy’s Grocery Games on the Food Network and she appeared on an episode of The Cooking Channel’s Carnival Eats hosted by Noah Cappe in 2017.

For 2019, Jones is adding Peanut Butter and Jelly Fried Chicken Wings to her State Fair of Texas offerings. “I wanted to have a kid-friendly menu item, and kids of all ages love PB&J and fried chicken so I thought ‘why not put them together?!’ I melt the jelly and peanut butter together and drizzle it over the chicken straight from the fryer. I’m expecting lines around the Midway for this!” laughs Jones.  Attendees to this year’s Fair will find Chef Cassy at booth number is FW25 outside of the Midway, near the base of the Top o’ Texas tower ride. Learn more at www.ChefCassy.com.