Jon Mortimer Chef Profile

About me

Jon Mortimer has been working in professional kitchens for the past twenty five years. He started his cooking career in the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho as a dishwasher at the age of sixteen.

After working in various restaurants into his early 20’s and attending the University of Arizona as well as the Horst Mager Culinary Academy in Portland, Oregon, Jon performed a pastry apprenticeship in Geilo, Norway and a hotel apprenticeship in Fiesole, Italy before returning to the U.S. to begin life as a corporate chef.

In 1990 Jon returned to Idaho’s capitol city where he owned and operated two fine dining restaurants, B.B Strand’s & Mortimer’s. During this time he published his cookbook, “The Idaho Table” showcasing the foods of the Intermountain West using techniques of the world.

Along with being a cookbook author, accolades include Certified Executive Chef, adjunct professor to Boise State University School of Culinary Arts, Host of the weekly radio show Radio Café on KIDO 580 AM, television chef on KBCI channel 2’s “Culinary Tip of the Day”, and past spokesman for the United Dairymen of Idaho.

Jon currently resides in Santa Rosa, California where he is Chef de Cuisine at Kenwood Inn and Spa. He spends his free time riding his Co-Motion tandem through the wine country with his daughter, Tegan, testing & researching the latest gluten-free cooking trends for his wife, Shara, and playing “roadie” to his son, Schuyler, schlepping him to and fro mountain bike races.