From being a chef for hundreds at Burning Man to firing up the sauté for Aaron Rodgers, our new head chef has been honing his culinary expertise everywhere!
Born and raised on the shores of Lake Superior In Ashland, Wisconsin, Jacob has had his hands on food from the start! Having a part in making delicious hometown pizzas at The Pizza Pub in Ashland to being the head chef of the famous Hotel Chequamegon at 18 years old, he quickly rose to be ahead of his game after coming home from being taught culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. After some time running the restaurant at Chequamegon, he moved back to Minneapolis to work at many establishments in the bustling city. Bar 508 on 1st Avenue in downtown Minneapolis became his mainstay. He was the executive sous chef here, leading the team in countless endeavors and preparing hundreds of plates of food per night for crowds leaving the Target Center and Twins Stadium next door.
In 2011, Jacob moved west to Tahoe, California. He was immediately hired as sous chef at the “Tahoe famous” and extremely busy restaurant, The Beacon, which is part of South Lake Tahoe’s Camp Richardson. He was quickly promoted to Executive Chef and led the team through the summer, performing hundreds of covers per day.
In 2015, Jacob was part of the culinary team at Edgewood Golf Course in Tahoe. This was a highlight of his career, being able to cook for all of the famous professional athletes and celebrities that took part in the “Celebrity Golf Tournament.” Here is where Jacob got to cook for and meet our own Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
In 2016, Jacob partnered with a couple who were building up a property in South Lake Tahoe to be a restaurant and brewery. The three owners together opened the Moonhouse Brewhouse. Being a coffee shop and bakery by morning and transitioning into a smokehouse and brewhouse by afternoon and night, The Moonhouse was a Tahoe favorite. They specialized in a daily changing menu that centered around house-cured and smoked meats, unique sauces, and flavors. Jacob would also throw monthly full moon dinner parties, with the entrees based on the name of the moon that month.
Finally, before returning home to Wisconsin, Jacob fine-tuned his skills working as executive chef at Old Town Tap in Truckee, California. Working with a 900-degree custom pizza oven from Italy, Jacob was able to explore his Italian heritage through cooking authentic Napoli-style pizzas. Being able to explore bistro-style cuisine to its fullest, he was able to create fun, sexy, contemporary foods that were true to the farm-to-table ingredients he was sourcing.
We welcome Jacob to Za51 and are excited to see what new flavors and platings he has to bring us!
