CHEF JONATHON STRANGER

Chef Jonathon Stranger developed an interest in cooking early on. As a child, he spent weekends at his family’s farm in Chandler, Oklahoma, where he would help his grandma prepare dinner using items found out in the country.

Those fond memories stoked a lifelong passion that took Jonathon from the food mecca of New York City — where he worked under two of the world’s finest, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Burke — to Germany, Houston, and Oregon before eventually returning him to his hometown of Oklahoma City. Along the way, he spent three years studying with another renowned chef, Paul Wade. Jonathon credits much of his culinary approach — innovative but unfussy — to his mentor. “He taught me to look deeply into each product and each moment of cooking,” Jonathon says. Jonathon often lends his talents toward community-driven events such as fundraising for May 2013 tornado victims as part of OK Chefs Relief or by coming full circle with his upbringing, helping diners reconnect with the land with adventures such as Outstanding in the Field. All of these experiences have led to Jonathon’s present-day mantra. “Each restaurant and hospitality outpost is an opportunity to create a positive moment for someone, from first-time to repeat customers. Through responsibly sourced ingredients, and a style of service that is upscale, unfussy, and fun, we can gratefully accommodate everyone to a proper, from the heart, meal,” Jonathon says.