James Nelms

Executive Chef

IronRock Tap House is proud to introduce Executive Chef James Nelms. Chef James was a military child who spent time at Fort Washington in Montgomery County. He later moved to and grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the Split Options Program at Steel Valley Senior High School in Munhall, PA. The program allowed him to join the military in the eleventh grade where he became a trained dietitian in 1985, and later returned to graduate from high school. He enjoyed the challenge of competition and decided to attend the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh, a division of the Culinary Institute of America. He graduated in 1990 and accepted an externship at the prestigious Ritz-Carlton in Buck Head Atlanta, Georgia where he continued to develop his culinary skills. After completing his externship, he accepted a position at the highly regarded Cherokee Country Club in Atlanta where he remained for four years and became a saucier chef. He studied under two master chefs from whom he learned a great deal about culinary art and respect. Chef James eventually moved back to Pittsburgh to be with his ill father who later succumbed to cancer. He owned two restaurants in Pennsylvania: Dormont Smoke House Bar & Grill, and Jazton Smoke House in White Oak. IronRock Tap House looks forward to Chef James sharing his culinary expertise and offering our guests an exceptional dining experience.