Meet Cassy

When you eat a dish created by Chef Cassy Jones what you taste is a blend of her country roots and urban influences. Her passion is to create traditional Southern dishes with a modern twist. Jones grew up in South Dallas and comes from a long line of great home cooks, but her dream of becoming a professional cook always seemed out of reach. "I had a daughter in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy and, as a result of her medical issues, regular daycares wouldn't accept her so I ran my own daycare for 15 years to help her and other children with special needs," said Jones. 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. 

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 Soul food 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.  Other items on her Fair menu include Catfish On A Stick, Honey Pecan-glazed Wings, PB&J Wings, and Kool-Aid Pickles. Attendees to the State Fair of Texas will find Chef Cassy at booth number is FW25 outside of the Midway, near the base of the Top o’ Texas tower ride.

Outside of the State Fair of Texas, Cassy runs a successful catering business providing her mouth-watering cuisine for private parties, family reunions, corporate retreats, and all sorts of events big and small. She also works as a private chef from time to time. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper and former Seattle Seahawks player, Tyler Lockett are among some of her celebrity clientele. 

Jones infectious laugh and Southern charm has landed her in an episode of Guy Fieri's grocery store-themed game show Guy’s Grocery Games on the Food Network and she has appeared on The Cooking Channel’s Carnival Eats hosted by Noah Cappe. Fans can follow Cassy’s Fair adventures on the new show, Deep Fried Dynasty, premiering March 8 on A&E to watch the big personalities behind the mouth-watering food at the State Fair of Texas.  These grease-soaked geniuses have just 24 demanding days to turn deep fried delicacies into major profits. The series is an inside look at how these imaginative foods come to life and the millions of dollars on the line for these family-run small business. Each team is on a mission to stand out and rake in profits from tens of thousands of fair attendees. It’s the American Dream, deep-fried, chocolate covered, and wrapped in bacon.