John Denison
St. Jack | Portland, OR
JULY 2023
While attending college in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, John Denison found his way into the kitchen of a local ski resort restaurant, hoping to make some extra money and score a free lift ticket. He soon found that his course work in environmental studies and sustainability fit perfectly with his growing interest in cooking, and decided he wanted to pursue a culinary career instead. In 2014, he relocated to Portland and joined the team at the Portland Meat Collective to learn butchery skills. He took a line cook position at Kachka, before moving to St. Jack as lead line cook in 2015. There, he met Rising Stars alum Aaron Barnett, who piqued his interest in French food. When Chef Kate Hill came in to teach charcuterie and butchery classes to the staff, Denison was eager to learn more. With the encouragement of Barnett, he traveled to France to work alongside Hill on her farm and at her culinary academy, Camont. There, Denison solidified his love of French cuisine and learned whole animal butchery, which would continue to shape his culinary path.
In 2016, Denison moved to Barcelona and to Tickets under acclaimed Chef Albert Adrià, where the high-intensity kitchen challenged him and helped expand his skill set. After a year, he returned to France, cooking around the country until he settled at Verjus in Paris. Over the next four years, Denison worked his way up to sous chef, and even met his future wife, the restaurant’s pastry chef. In 2020, Denison and his wife returned to Portland, where he reconnected with Barnett and accepted the chef de cuisine position at St. Jack. Denison shares technique-driven French dishes with a twist, bringing a fun spin to classic cuisine, like his mimolette gougères with butternut squash and espelette pepper.
