In January this year, the vibrant energy of SPARK on Piccadilly in York was further enriched as 21-year-old Jack Jenner brought his vision to life with the launch of Baby Boy’s Burgers. It now stands amid numerous small business units in this go-to spot for exceptional food offerings.
Jack has become somewhat of a public figure at SPARK, as their Instagram page introduces his business: ‘Over the past few years, Jack has helped out in no less than NINE different food vendors in our community, bopping all about the place and being a friendly, helpful and talented face that we all know and love.’
Intrigued by interesting individuals, SCENE approached him to get to know more!
By the time Jack finished his chef training, he was already running a restaurant as a manager.
“It has always been in the family, my mum trains to be a chef. I sort of grew up cooking with my gran, cooking with my mum and I got into it from there and started training.
The hospitality industry operates under considerable unpredictability and strain, making it all the more inspiring to witness a young, ambitious, and passionate chef navigating and thriving despite its challenges. What does he love about it?
“The people, honestly. It’s a hard industry to be in, the hours and the actual job can be really tough. But if you’ve got good people around you it’s just so much easier. I’ve been in SPARK for four years, so I know everyone really really well, so, it just seems like the right thing to do.
“If you’ve got good people around you it’s just so much easier.”
Starting a business is never without its challenges, and Jack openly reflects on what insights he wishes he had gained earlier. He talks about one thing he’s had to learn a lot of, especially early on, which is spreadsheets and how helpful they are when it comes to time management.
“Just anything financial, really, there’s a lot of things to do with VAT, tax, different tax grades and I think it’s more to do with more research on it. A little bit more research would have been really helpful.”
For some, burgers might be viewed just as a classic staple. Jack observed that “there were a few things missing with burger places in York and I think that’s a little bit more due care attention to things. So, rather than just, for example, buying sauces, we make them all, so everything is made by us: we make all our pickles, all our sauces, all our patties, anything like that. I think it’s just using a bit more different techniques, different knowledge that people may not necessarily have. We’re now going into foraging, fermenting… Yeah, I think there was just a lack of those things in the burger scene at the moment so we want to bring something new to it.”
An unexpected fun fact is that Jack said he actually doesn’t really like burgers!
For first-time burger-loving visitors, Jack recommends their classic burger, “a demonstration of just simple things done well.”
“I think with the burgers we’re proud of would have to be the spicy burger. The jam seems simple, but we’re using ingredients in there that people may not have heard of, may not have seen, and it’s a very long process. It has an extra bit of care, extra bit of time.”
Jack Jenner dreams and plans big. Expect great things in the near future, from new team members to a clothing brand, Jenner’s goal is to keep growing bigger and bigger.
He envisions the next decade but wisely notes, “You can spend every day planning, but you can’t rely on it to go that way. I always have a plan, but in a year, my 10-year plan might be different.”
Currently, you can meet him in the neon purple unit with his friend Rob six days a week.
Choose from five different burgers (including vegan options) served in a potato brioche bun, a regularly-changing special burger, or even a tempting grilled cheese. Enjoy and don’t forget to #supportlocal!