Meet The Chef

Jonathan Chiri, a native Californian, has worked in numerous well-known restaurants throughout America, Germany & France. He began his career in the early 1990’s in California, notably at the San Ysidro Ranch (recently rated #1 resort in the world by Forbes) in Montecito and the New Orleans styled Restaurant Catahoula in Napa Valley. After moving north to Seattle, he spent just over a year and a half as Sous-Chef of the innovative vegetarian restaurant Carmelita. His next stop was New Orleans, where he was to open several nationally renowned restaurants including Cuvee, Stella and later August under Chef John Besh.

Wanderlust took hold of Chef Chiri and he was off to Europe and the Michelin starred Romantik Hotel Spielweg in the Black Forest of Germany. After stints in Berlin and Barcelona, Jon moved to Provence, France, where he has now been since 2002. He spent his first 4 years in the famed Michelin starred La Mirande in Avignon, eventually becoming Pastry Chef and Chef-Instructor in their cooking school, La Marmiton. In 2006, he became Chef de Cuisine of the Chateau de Massillan in Uchaux, not far from the Rhone Valley’s top wine regions. Operated by two London based designers, the Chateau de Massillan’s juxtaposition between historic grandeur and modern design allowed Chef Chiri the opportunity to tailor his daily-changing seasonal menu to the unique surroundings. During this time he enjoyed the privileges of creating dinner-events with various talented chefs, local farms and extraordinary Châteauneuf-du-Pape winemakers.

In recent years, Jon has expanded his repertoire in seeking to combine his multiple passions for cooking, wine, travel and cycling with his intimate knowledge of Provençe and the French wine regions. Between 2010 and 2012 he had taken over the reins as Chef de Cuisine of the luxurious wine-estate Domaine de la Verriere, while creating/operating Gourmet Cycling Travel, his bicycle tour company dedicated to food and wine enthusiasts. Today he continues his luxury cycling tours as well as creating unique culinary events, caterings, and intimate, personalized “chef at home” services. . His most recent endeavor is the opening of Cuisine Centr'Halles in the heart of the historic Les Halles market of Avignon. Along with his market venue, he continues his luxury cycling tours as well as creating unique culinary events, caterings, and intimate, personalized “chef at home” services.

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