Other
JJ Johnson
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Born in New York and raised in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, with long stretches in Harlem, JJ Johnson came up inside a set of geographies that shaped how he cooks and how he reads Black culinary memory. The city, the woods, and Harlem’s dense food culture sit behind a career built on apprenticeship, repetition, and the discipline that serious kitchen work demands. At the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson entered formal training with that frame already in place, and his own line about having had “a lot of different mentors over the course of my career” fits the way his path has unfolded: through instruction, service, and accumulated technique.
Coming Up
At Culinary Institute of America, JJ Johnson trained for the work that followed in New York kitchens, where he cooked at Tropico, Jane, Tribeca Grill, and Centro Vinoteca. Those rooms asked for speed, precision, and the ability to absorb a standard quickly enough to hold it during service. In 2011–2011, he was winner at Bravo's Rocco's Dinner Party, a credit that widened his profile while confirming momentum already built on steady kitchen work. Executive leadership came next, with Johnson serving as executive chef at The Cecil (2013–2017) and executive chef at Minton's (2014–2017). The move from line cook to executive chef marked a shift in scope, not method: the same pressure for consistency, only now expressed across menus, teams, and dining rooms. Later, he served as chef at Chef's Club in New York City (from 2017) and chef at BuzzFeed's Tasty, extending his practice into different formats while staying within the discipline of restaurant cooking. Since 2018, Johnson has served as executive chef of The Henry at Life Hotel, and since 2019 as founder of Fieldtrip, while also working as television host of Just Eats with Chef JJ. Those roles show a career that moves between hospitality, ownership, and media, with each platform carrying the same basic task: to translate a culinary point of view clearly and without clutter.
Where They Are Now
Fieldtrip, in Harlem, New York City, is the current expression of JJ Johnson’s food work, and *Just Eats with Chef JJ* gives him a public platform outside the dining room. The motto, Rice is Culture, frames the concept in direct terms: rice as a staple, a shared reference point, and a food with broad cultural reach. In Harlem, that idea lands in a neighborhood with deep history and constant circulation, which suits a project built around something common, adaptable, and central to the table.
Signature
JJ's signature dishes include Vegan Smash Burgers, Okra Fries, and King Crab Leg Scampi. Read together, they show a kitchen working across registers: plant-based reworkings, crisp snack food, and a seafood dish with a more classic structure. The thread is control of texture and an interest in dishes that can carry comfort without losing edge.
In Their Words “I’ve had a lot of different mentors over the course of my career.” “I would love to be the Jordan of the culinary world.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of JJ
Where did JJ Johnson train or study?
JJ Johnson trained at Culinary Institute of America.
What recognition has JJ Johnson received?
James Beard Foundation Book Award (2019).
