Life & Work with Jon Fox of North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Fox.

Hi Jon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been a foodie and a cook of sorts since I was a teenager, for 40 years. I waited until my children were grown to pursue my passion of becoming a chef. And like a wise man, I waited until the height of COVID to go to culinary school. I graduated top of my class from the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts – Boulder.

After a life-changing spring vacation to southern Colorado, my wife, Theresa and I were hypnotized by the mountains. Thus began our journey to Colorado. Theresa, being a teacher found a job in Northwest Colorado where I began selling my leftovers out of my door in Craig. The response and demand were so overwhelming that I had no other choice but to find a commercial kitchen to rent. Thus began Chef Jon’s Table. Before leaving Craig, I was a two-time champion of the Chocolate Fest and had all 5-star google reviews. In the year and a half the restaurant was open, I never repeated a weekly menu. We have moved several times in the past four years to accommodate my wife’s career, and have finally settled in this area.

Now we have a website, www.chefjonstable.com where I sell an array of jams, jellies, sauces, and baked goods that I can ship nation-wide. I’m offering my services in this area with my catering and meal planning. My menu constantly changes, and I focus on high-protein, veggie, low-carb healthy meals. My menu ranges from classic American meatloaf, to shrimp scampi alfredo, to chicken masala – whatever my crazy mind comes up with.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing in life is ever a smooth road. In the beginning, my main struggle was COVID-19. Opening a restaurant during the height of that, I had to be creative. Chef Jon’s Table originally was a pre-order take-away restaurant only. We didn’t even offer drinks. I would put my menu for the week out on Saturday and customers could begin ordering then. I was able to maintain the business and a profit for a year and a half.

Which brings us to obstacle two… being married to an educator. We closed the restaurant and moved three times in the past few years, trying to find a school that was a good fit for my wife. Challenges are fine for me; in fact, I embrace them. I have always lived by the motto: baby-steps, so I never get in over my head where my business is concerned. I don’t use suppliers and I shop locally and seasonally, which keeps my overhead low.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a personal chef/caterer/meal planner/baker. I specialize in layers of flavor. I am known for swaying picky-eaters and children who don’t normally like new dishes until they try mine. I’m most proud of overcoming the many difficulties in life I have overcome. What sets me apart from others is my ability to face a challenge head-on and bustle through like nobody’s business. You’d find it hard-pressed to find another single caterer in the area with a menu as vast as mine.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I am the luckiest. I have no business being able to exist. I have been blessed with a loving wife, three wonderful sons, and a dog who sticks by my side no matter what. Like many others in the world today, I struggle with mental health problems #mentalhealthmatters, so the struggle is real and daily. But with a good support system and love, people can manage. Some might call it luck that I was able to open a restaurant the way I did, but I don’t think luck has anything to do with it. My food is good. And when I opened my restaurant, it was all me. From meal planning, to prep work, to shopping, to cleaning, to taking orders and managing finances. You say luck, I say hard work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chefjonstable.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/chefjonfox/
• Facebook: facebook.com/chefjonstable/

Image Credits
All photos by Chef Jon Fox