Jason Vincent

Coming Up

Training at The Culinary Institute of America gave Jason Vincent a formal base, but the line cook work that followed supplied the practical education. In Cleveland, Ohio, he started as a dishwasher at a local Italian restaurant, where repetition and physical labor set the terms of the shift. He then moved to cook at a pizza restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, staying close to the fundamentals of heat, timing, and consistency. The next stop pushed the work outward. At the Michelin three-starred restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain, Vincent entered a kitchen operating at a different scale, one that demanded pace and precision in equal measure. From there he continued as line cook at Fore Street in Portland, Maine, adding another layer of service rhythm, coordination, and the steady pressure of keeping standards intact. Chicago, Illinois, is where the career became publicly legible. Jason Vincent was chef at Lula Café in Chicago, Illinois (2005–2009), then chef at Nightwood in Chicago, Illinois (2009–2014), two runs that established a reputation built on clarity, technique, and food that does not need decoration to hold attention. Later, he became chef at Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar (from 2020), extending that same sensibility into another room. Since 2016, Jason Vincent has been co-owner and chef of Giant, and since 2023 he has also been chef at Pizza Matta. The arc across these roles is less about scale than about control: the same instinct for balance, resourcefulness, and restraint carried through different formats without changing the underlying point of view.

Where They Are Now

Jason Vincent’s current work spans Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar in Chicago, a role he has held since 2020, and Pizza Matta in Chicago, where he has worked since 2023. Seen together with Giant, those posts show a chef working across multiple kitchens while keeping the same priorities in view: efficient execution, clear flavor, and a refusal to make food do more than it needs to. His own words make that position explicit. “There’s that saying that a well-dressed woman should take off one accessory before leaving the house. I believe that. We don’t need to put truffles on everything and hike up the cost.” The point is judgment. For Vincent, good cooking is not about piling on; it is about knowing when the plate is already complete.

Signature

Jason's signature dishes include one long noodle, filled with carbonara sauce and topped with mussels, fried pig’s ears, Jonah crab salad, pork loin schnitzel, and potstickers. The list points to a cook comfortable moving between comfort and surprise without losing control of the line. There is room here for richness, crunch, and familiar formats treated with enough wit to keep them from becoming routine. The throughline is directness: dishes that are generous, readable, and built to land without excess.

In Their Words “There’s that saying that a well-dressed woman should take off one accessory before leaving the house. I believe that. We don’t need to put truffles on everything and hike up the cost.”

Honors

Jason's honors include Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Award, Thrillist Chef of the Year, Food & Wine Best New Chef, and Cochon 555 National Champion. Those recognitions sit comfortably with the rest of the record: a chef whose work has been noticed widely, yet whose own language keeps returning to economy, judgment, and the value of not overdoing it.