Chew Owner Jonathan Insetta featured.

[stephendare]

Jon is currently running Chew downtown http://www.chewrestaurant.com/  and is in the process of opening a new restaurant in Avondale at my grandmother's old pharmacy called Restaurant Orsay  http://www.myspace.com/restaurantorsay .  Most recently the location was home to Crush Bistro.

Spotlight on Florida Community College Students, Alumni and Faculty Members

A Heaping Helping of Success

Jonathan Insetta
Florida Community College, Institute of the South for Hospitality and Culinary Arts

Jon Insetta isn’t exactly sure when he decided to pursue a future in the culinary field. “All I know is that I always loved to cook while I was growing up, and from high school on, I knew I wanted to go into the restaurant business,” he said.

And the restaurant business is where he most definitely is today, having opened the popular Chew Restaurant in downtown Jacksonville in 2006. Jon credits much of his success to his teachers in the culinary program at Florida Community College.

“I really liked the approachability and access to the professors,” he said. “They were all very approachable. If you showed interest, they returned it tenfold. It was really one-on-one help. And their experience at some of the country’s legendary restaurants formed a wealth of knowledge that was very easy to tap into. It was like learning from family.”

As a student, Jon and a few classmates also had the opportunity to take a trip abroad with his teachers. “I went to Ireland and the United Kingdom with some students and teachers. We had an outstanding time visiting some of the most well-known restaurants over there. We really learned a lot.”

After studying at FCCJ, Jon went to the renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where he built on the foundation of knowledge he gained at FCCJ. But it was here at the College where the dream for Chew was born. Knowing how difficult it can be to find success as a restaurateur, his parents had a few misgivings. “My parents were against it for a while because they knew how tough it was,” he said. “But when they saw I was serious, they really backed me all the way.”

His parents’ confidence was well placed. Chew has won numerous accolades and has gone from serving just lunch to serving dinner as well. As Jon puts it, “We’ve gotten unbelievable media attention, and business has been very good. It took us a while to get Chew up and running, but I’m very proud of the results. A lot of the decisions we made for the restaurant were based on what I learned from my FCCJ teachers.”

As successful as Jon has been, he has even bigger plans. “My goal is to own at least five restaurants by the time I’m 35. I want to form a restaurant company that can achieve the high level of quality we want.” But for now, he’s savoring the sweet taste of success.

[billbo]

Jon is currently running Chew downtown http://www.chewrestaurant.com/  and is in the process of opening a new restaurant in Avondale at my grandmother's old pharmacy called Restaurant Orsay  http://www.myspace.com/restaurantorsay .  Most recently the location was home to Crush Bistro.

Spotlight on Florida Community College Students, Alumni and Faculty Members

A Heaping Helping of Success

Jonathan Insetta
Florida Community College, Institute of the South for Hospitality and Culinary Arts

Jon Insetta isn’t exactly sure when he decided to pursue a future in the culinary field. “All I know is that I always loved to cook while I was growing up, and from high school on, I knew I wanted to go into the restaurant business,” he said.

And the restaurant business is where he most definitely is today, having opened the popular Chew Restaurant in downtown Jacksonville in 2006. Jon credits much of his success to his teachers in the culinary program at Florida Community College.

“I really liked the approachability and access to the professors,” he said. “They were all very approachable. If you showed interest, they returned it tenfold. It was really one-on-one help. And their experience at some of the country’s legendary restaurants formed a wealth of knowledge that was very easy to tap into. It was like learning from family.”

As a student, Jon and a few classmates also had the opportunity to take a trip abroad with his teachers. “I went to Ireland and the United Kingdom with some students and teachers. We had an outstanding time visiting some of the most well-known restaurants over there. We really learned a lot.”

After studying at FCCJ, Jon went to the renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where he built on the foundation of knowledge he gained at FCCJ. But it was here at the College where the dream for Chew was born. Knowing how difficult it can be to find success as a restaurateur, his parents had a few misgivings. “My parents were against it for a while because they knew how tough it was,” he said. “But when they saw I was serious, they really backed me all the way.”

His parents’ confidence was well placed. Chew has won numerous accolades and has gone from serving just lunch to serving dinner as well. As Jon puts it, “We’ve gotten unbelievable media attention, and business has been very good. It took us a while to get Chew up and running, but I’m very proud of the results. A lot of the decisions we made for the restaurant were based on what I learned from my FCCJ teachers.”

As successful as Jon has been, he has even bigger plans. “My goal is to own at least five restaurants by the time I’m 35. I want to form a restaurant company that can achieve the high level of quality we want.” But for now, he’s savoring the sweet taste of success.

All this ambition, and Jon is a helluva nice guy too.  I went to high school with him and see him out quite a bit.  I'm pretty sure he's working on opening up a new bar here in town as well as the other restaurant plans he has.  For those that haven't tried out Chew yet, do yourself a favor.

[billbo]

Yeah, I had heard that about the bar as well, billbo.

Anything concrete?

Also a new little bar is opening over in Five Points as well.

Ran into heather one of the owners friday night.  It seems like its going to be pretty cool.

As you know with downtown, nothing is concrete.  Jon was actually working on opening a club before Chew even opened, but it fell to the wayside.  That being said, I think that this plan may be a little more concrete and should open (If I remember correctly) sometime in the Fall.  I believe he wanted it to be more of a lounge type place, complete with bottle service and all the other amenities those places have.  I think with the Ivey Club opening soon, he may find out if Jacksonville is ready to support that kind of an establishment.