Co-Founder, CEO, and dishwasher. 1M TedTalk Views and counting. Jon’s ability to craft narratives around food and human connection is made of threads that connect back to his childhood in The Bronx, raised by brilliant and brave women in his family that exposed him to the arts as a model for Black excellence. His rebellious adolescence almost put him behind bars, but a second shot cleared the way for Jon to engineer his vision for gastro-diplomacy as a vehicle for impacting culture worldwide.

Raised between Barbados and the States, Chef P grew up to be perceptive and curious; culinary training in Piemonte made him unstoppable. A grand return to running Barbados’ culinary scene and feeding celebrities would be the end of the story for most, but P’s insatiable appetite to build something bigger brought him back Stateside — and destiny brought him to Ghetto Gastro.

Growing up mere blocks away from Jon in The Bronx’s Co-Op City, Les made alchemy out of a rough upbringing and turned a slot at NYC’s Careers for Culinary Arts Program into his pathway forward. The road to greatness isn’t any less rough than the streets, but Les’ talent allowed him to make light work of winning Chopped in 2012. With that milestone behind him, Les has never looked back, layering flavors and connecting cultures through Ghetto Gastro since the very beginning.