Chef Matt Jones

Executive Chef & Owner

Chef Matt discovered his passion for food after several exotic trips abroad. He left a graphic design career at Microsoft to apprentice with a local chef, where he spent a year studying, cooking, teaching, and learning the curriculum of the Culinary Institute of America. He has worked with such notable chefs as Lisa Nakamura of The French Laundry and The Herbfarm, Nick Musser of Icon Grill, Brian O'Connor, formerly of Madison Park Cafe, and Greg Atkinson formerly of Canlis. Matt has attended cooking programs not only in Seattle, but in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Bali, Indonesia; Paris, France; and Hoi An, Vietnam.

• Favorite foods
  Pan-seared scallops and chantrelle mushroom risotto, phad kee mao, braised short ribs, Sour Patch Kids
• Favorite restaurants
  Le Pichet (French bistro), Acapulco Fresh (fresh and healthy Mexican), Bu Oka in Bali (roast piglet), Cafe Demel in Vienna (coffeehouse), and anywhere that serves a proper high tea. I love those teeny desserts.
• Weirdest thing I ever ate
  Sea cucumber, at Mashiko Sushi in Seattle. Strange cartilage-like consistency.
• Favorite cookbook
  The Culinary Institute of America's Professional Baking. Basic recipes, great departure points.
• My culinary idol
  Anthony Bourdain for his views on what food can and should be. Alton Brown on Food Network's Good Eats is a very close second!
• Best meal ever
  Our 8th wedding anniversary in San Francisco- Restaurant Gary Danko. I had a 7-course feast, culminating with "Happy Anniversary" stencilled in chocolate on my dessert plate. I still have the menu.

Follow Chef Matt's personal blog at www.kungfuchef.com.