Chef
Jake Ettison
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Orlando, Florida, United States
i. Biography
Cuban cooking gives this kitchen its working frame: edited, direct, and built on a short run of plates rather than a broad survey. At Otto's High Dive, Jake Ettison works within a Floridian-Cuban register where ropa vieja, chicken mojo, shrimp cocktail, and cinnamon bread pudding carry the menu’s argument. The vocabulary is compact, but it covers several jobs: braise, citrus-and-garlic savor, chilled seafood, and a spice-warmed finish.
Formation
A focused Executive Chef role can define a kitchen as much by exclusion as by inclusion. At Otto's High Dive, Jake Ettison holds that position in a restaurant shaped less by excess than by a clear Cuban center and a Florida setting. The work depends on editing: keeping the presentation tight enough that each dish has a reason to be there. The present-tense profile is unusually direct. Rather than leaning on a long list of prior stops or claimed influences, the record here rests on Jake Ettison leading the kitchen at Otto's High Dive and shaping a menu with firm borders. For a working restaurant, that restraint matters. A short repertoire asks for repetition, recognition, and careful execution rather than novelty for its own sake.
The Work Today
The menu at Otto's High Dive is built as a narrow, usable set of Floridian-Cuban references. Cuban cuisine sets the frame, and the named plates—ropa vieja, chicken mojo, shrimp cocktail, and cinnamon bread pudding—connect that frame to Florida without turning the restaurant into a catalogue. Ropa vieja carries the long-cooked register: deep comfort, soft structure, and patience implied before service. Chicken mojo shifts the table toward citrus, garlic, and savoriness, using brightness as the main point of lift. Shrimp cocktail keeps the coastal note clean and immediate, bringing Florida into the Cuban focus without adding clutter. Cinnamon bread pudding closes with warmth, spice, and softness rather than spectacle. Taken together, the dishes read as a point of view, not a survey. Jake Ettison’s cooking at Otto's High Dive does not attempt to map every corner of Cuban cuisine, and it does not use Florida as decoration. The craft is in the overlap: a focused kitchen, a few chosen plates, and a rhythm that moves from hearty to bright to coastal to sweet. The restaurant identity is built through precision, familiarity, and a deliberately short repertoire.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jake
What does Jake Ettison do now?
Jake Ettison is Executive Chef at Otto's High Dive.
What recognition has Jake Ettison received?
Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition for Otto's High Dive (2025).
What is Jake Ettison known for?
Cuban cuisine at Otto's High Dive.
