I’m 40 years old. That’s OLD, at least according to my kid.
For most of those 40 years I’ve been obsessed with food. I know, people are “obsessed” with lots of different things, and even that word is ridiculously over-used these days. But it’s true. I think about food almost every moment of every day. Eating it, cooking it, seeing it, smelling it… ALL the time! It’s kind of my thing.
My father has been in food service since before I was born. The first job I know he had was a delivery driver and cook at Heaps O’ Pizza in Provo, Utah. If I think real hard, I can remember the smells of that place, even though dad was only there until I was 2 or so. My earliest memories are of the wonders of an industrial kitchen, dad’s job at The LDS Church Office Building – 100 gallon kettles, huge steam tables, walk-in refrigerators, and my favorite, the Candy Room (dry storage for all the vending machines).
That world held such magical possibility to me, so it’s no wonder that at barely 15 years old, I got a job at a local restaurant washing dishes. It was a gourmet burger joint named “Flakey Jakes”, and I loved it there. So much so that I stayed for 2 years, and probably would have stayed longer had they not closed their doors and filed bankruptcy. I worked a few other kitchen jobs before finding happiness again working at The Lion House in downtown Salt Lake City. I worked there for a year or so before moving to Argentina for two years. On my return, I went back to The Lion House and really immersed myself in the cooking and recipes we had there. From entrees, to soups and side dishes, to desserts, I wanted to learn it all! I quickly became the weekend manager, overseeing the prime rib buffet every Friday and Saturday night, and I couldn’t have been happier. That is, until I realized that many of my friends were making a lot more money than me.
Thinking that there was something else out there for me, I left food for corporate America, working large corporations like The Ritz-Carlton and UPS before starting my own branding firm. Now, I don’t regret any of this – even though I wasn’t truly following my passion, the things I learned at each of those places prepared me in every way for the next step all along my path. Which brings me to 2010. I was bored at my job, working at a credit repair firm. It was a great job, great friends, good money, I should have been happy. But I wasn’t. I didn’t love it. In fact, I’d been doing corporate America so long that I didn’t really KNOW what it was that I loved or was passionate about.
Well, it didn’t take more than a few words from a dear friend for me to realize that even though I’d left the food service industry years ago, it was still all I talked about, thought about and lived! I mean, I’d done catering and private chef events throughout the years, and had continued to learn, grow, and hone my culinary skills. So, with the “remembering” of my passion came a huge career change – I decided to go back into the food service.
And that’s how I ended up at The Metropolitan – the “crown jewel” of Utah’s fine dining establishments. I loved it there, and although they’ve clsoed their doors, I’m excited for my next great culinary adventure!
Which leads me to today. I am the Executive Chef at The Prairie Schooner, a historic steak house in Ogden, Utah. Come say hello, and eat some good food with friends.
When I am not cooking at a restaurant I am teaching. I am the newest adjunct faculty member at The University of Utah. I think my sweetheart described it best when she said “J. has found his nirvana. Talking about food. Cooking food. Eating food. I may never see him again.”
I’m living the dream!
