Gifford's Bacon

To Nathan Gifford, cooking just felt right.  Born in Iowa City, Iowa and raised in Oklahoma, BBQ and smoking meats was a right of passage for a young chef.  After leaving school at 16, Nathan worked his way through some of the most well known kitchens in the country from Denver to San Francisco, to LA and eventually landing in Texas. Nathan has cooked for everyone from Presidents to celebrities and sports figures. However, a move to Nashville changed everything.

Gifford’s Bacon was birthed from a happy experiment. While working as a butcher in town, Nathan was asked to make bacon for a local chef. From there, he set off to create the perfect dry rub, smoking a 10 pound pork belly in his garage. Word began to spread and soon Nathan and his wife Nicole began smoking more and more bacon - so much so that the neighborhood started to smell like smoke. He quickly realized there was a market for high quality smoked meats that chefs could not create in their own kitchens. Moving the operation out of his house to a space in Nick’s Bar-B-Que allowed Nathan to cure and smoke bacon on a much larger level.

While spending time as a butcher at the prestigious Capitol Grille in The Hermitage Hotel, Nathan met his business partner Andy Fields. Seemingly overnight, a larger production area was needed once more. Together Andy and Nathan grew the business and built out an abandoned transmission garage in East Nashville as their new USDA Certified facility, which now produces thousands of pounds of bacon at a time.

In addition to their premium bacon, the business has grown into offering smoked bologna, hot sauce, barbecue sauce, and smoked meats for chefs within Nashville and throughout the South. The company views its customers as members of the family, and welcomes the opportunity to get to know the people they serve.

Gifford's Bacon looks forward to growing its family, as beginning in late November their bacon and smoked bologna will be available in select Kroger stores throughout the Nashville area. From a home garage, to a transmission garage, to their first retail distribution, celebrate Nathan, Nicole, and Andy's success by stopping in to a Nashville area Kroger, taking home a pound of bacon, and trying out a new recipe, like Ricotta Gnocchi with Bacon and Fresh Herbs. Or stick to an old classic and use Gifford's in your next fried bologna sandwich- either way, Gifford's is sure to please.