This summer, join us for the debut of Campfire Chefs—one more way The Resort at Paws Up has turned camping into glamping. While each of our camp’s Dining Pavilions is normally staffed with an exceptionally talented chef who prepares your daily breakfast and dinner, this series allows you to dine on the cuisine of chefs who are at the pinnacle of culinary success. These include award-winning names such as Chef Jonathon Sawyer:
Chef Jonathon Sawyer is a proud Clevelander and a graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts. He began his culinary career at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami before working in New York City alongside Charlie Palmer at Kitchen 22. Sawyer worked as chef de cuisine for friend and colleague Michael Symon and then became Symon’s executive chef at Parea, receiving a two-star review from the New York Times.
In 2007, Sawyer moved to his hometown to pursue his dream of opening his own restaurant. Before his dream was realized, Sawyer partnered with a local entrepreneur to open Bar Cento, a modern Roman enoteca in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. During Sawyer’s tenure, Bar Cento received many accolades. Sawyer also received the Rising Star Chef award from Restaurant Hospitality and GAYOT.
Sawyer has since opened several restaurants in Cleveland, including his flagship, the Greenhouse Tavern, a French and seasonally inspired gastropub. His other offerings include Noodlecat, a quick-service ramen shop focusing on local ingredients and sustainability, and Trentina, a northern-Italian-inspired restaurant that was named a runner-up in Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in 2014. Sawyer also operates Sawyer’s Street Frites in the FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns, and opened SeeSaw Pretzel Shoppe in Quicken Loans Arena.
The chef was honored as a recipient of Food & Wine’s Best New Chef award in 2010. In 2013, he became a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Sawyer won this prestigious award in 2015. Sawyer has also made several national television appearances, including on Best Thing I Ever Ate, Dinner Impossible, Iron Chef America and Unique Eats.
When Sawyer is not in the kitchen, he is usually surrounded by family members, including his wife Amelia, son Catcher and daughter Louisiana. He is a tireless supporter of the green movement, local agriculture and sustainable businesses both in Northeast Ohio and around the country.