The majority of his childhood was spent in New Orleans, but his mother took Currence and his brother out of elementary school for long weekends to travel around Europe.
His professional career began under Bill Neal at his Chapel Hill, North Carolina restaurant, Crooks Corner.
According to Vogue, "[y]ou can't visit Oxford without hearing someone sing the praises of Chef John Currence.
"[2] City Grocery was Currence's first restaurant, with a Southern and traditional Creole French menu, opened in 1992, and has been in Oxford Courthouse Square since 1996.
[5] Big Bad Breakfast started in Oxford in 2008, but later spawned additional locations in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and South Carolina.
[6] It has received recognition from publications like The Culture Trip, which named it one of the best diners in the South by in 2016,[7] The Daily Meal,[8] Serious Eats,[9] and Travel and Leisure.
Bravo TV, the network on which Top Chef Masters is hosted, released John Currence's pre competition interview.
[15] Currence joined Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods, exploring The Blues Trail to try unusual BLT sandwiches, including one made with testicles.
[28] Currence was featured in The New York Times for launching the Big Gay Mississippi Welcome Table, a protest against Governor Phil Bryant's signing of the anti-gay House Bill 1523.