Matthew Ridgway was raised in Bucks County, PA, among a family that instilled in him a deep respect for agriculture and small family farming. He officially found his culinary calling at age 12 at his cousin’s gourmet bakery in Holland, PA, where he realized the career potential of good cooking.

Ridgway has worked at such prestigious restaurants as Charles Saunders’ Eastside Oyster Bar and Grill in Sonoma, The Fountain Room in The Four Seasons Hotel, Philadelphia under Chefs Jean-Marie Lacroix and Martin Hamman, and served as Lacroix’s Chef de Cuisine and Chef de Restaurant at Lacroix at The Rittenhouse. Internationally, he has worked at George V in Paris and Relais St. Victoire in Aix en Provence, Landis Hotel Group Taiwan. Most recently, Ridgway served with Executive Chef Joël Antunes at Antunes’ namesake restaurant, JOËL, in Atlanta and opened the Oak Room, in the Plaza Hotel New York City.

Ridgway is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Johnson and Wales Culinary School and of Widener University, where he studied hospitality and business management. He now is founder and owner in PorcSalt, sustainable artisanal and local charcutiere. That provides his products at the local farmers markets and restaurants in the tri- state area. He believes that food is a vocational journey. Passion, perfection, hard work, and creativity are the cornerstones of cooking and food.