About Us
Jason Potter has 20+ years of experience running kitchens of various restaurants, hotels and country clubs all over the country from NYC, to Miami, to Los Angeles. He moved away from his home in Michigan to study at the French Culinary Institute and begin his career as a chef. Throughout the years, Jason has built an arsenal of culinary-skills leading kitchens of all sorts of cuisines: classic French, local-eclectic American, Italian, Japanese, and even a humble taco-truck concept. Most recently, he worked as the corporate chef of Blue Ribbon Restaurants, opening 14 new restaurant concepts.
Jason prefers to work with local farmers and purveyors, executing simple, yet elegant cooking techniques, to highlight the essence of each ingredient.
Tanya started working in restaurants at the age of 15 and later graduated from Cornell University’s Hotel School-the leading hotel and restaurant business school in the nation. After college she worked in Manhattan for the China Grill Management Restaurant Group overseeing the dining rooms, lounges and cocktail bars at English is Italian, Wild Salmon and Asia de Cuba.
In 2009, Tanya chose to leave China Grill Mgmt to advance her knowledge in wines and spirits and began working for Empire Merchants, NY’s top Wine and Liquor Distributor. The last 12 years she has worked closely with countless restaurateurs and sommeliers in NYC, Long Island and Westchester to consult on their wine lists and beverage programs.
Who We Are
Hi! We’re Jason & Tanya. We are a husband and wife team who believe in infusing excellence in everything we do. We’ve always shared a passion for good food and drink, exploring the world and its many cultures, and sharing in these experiences with friends and family. We believe in working hard, living fully, and finding daily moments of true connection. And what better place for that, than around the table?
Our Story
We met back in 2006, both of us aspiring restaurateurs, working our way up the ranks within the Manhattan restaurant scene. From the very start, Jason, a sous chef, and Tanya, a dining room manager, recognized each other’s work ethic and dedication and formed a strong bond. While we eventually moved onto separate restaurants, we stayed together at heart, marrying in 2010 and we now have 2 boys, Liam and Rowen.
The goal of running our own restaurant has been simmering for years as we juggle the demands of our careers and parenthood. But suddenly, everything changed in March 2020 when COVID hit. Jason was furloughed from his job as the Corporate Chef of Blue Ribbon Restaurants, and for the first time in, well…EVER, he didn’t know when he would be back to work!
Just like a fish needs to swim, a chef must cook; and so Jason did, every day from home. Bagels and croissants, homemade pastas and tamales. In the thick of our social distancing, we were making pizzas for our neighbors and our boys were delivering them at doorsteps, just as a means to stay connected. News of Pizza Fridays spread around town and soon we had bags of flour and shredded mozzarella delivered at our doorstep. Everyone wanted to share in our community outreach, and together we recognized that food was the vehicle to serve us comfort in these strange and uncertain times.
With many people still looking for ways to celebrate milestone birthdays and special events, Jason and Tanya once again joined forces and served our community the best way we know how: around the table with great food, good friends, and lots of laughter.
We formed our own licensed in-home catering company in summer of 2020, and we are currently working on our next project of opening a full service restaurant in the north shore of Long Island.
Stay in touch with us for updates!
xo,
J&T