Zach Jones

Meet the Class of 2025: Zach Jones

Zach Jones is known at Cedarbrook CC for his outstanding leadership, passion, and culinary skills. He has successfully operated many roles, including interim executive chef, chef de cuisine, and sous chef. He is dedicated and focused on bettering the culinary experience at every club he has worked at. Since coming on as member dining sous chef at Cedarbrook CC, he has engaged the membership with new and creative menu options and has raised a la carte food sales by $63,000 in his first year at the club.

Club + Resort Chef (C+RC): How do you feel about being recognized as one of C+RC's 40 Under 40 honorees, and what significance does this achievement hold for you?

Zach Jones (ZJ): It means more to me than any other recognition I’ve received in my life. Being a chef, it demands more dedication than most other professions I can think of, and I have dedicated almost half of my life to this already. So, to be recognized for that dedication and commitment is validating and rejuvenating.

C+RC: What advice would you offer young chefs aiming to excel in the club and resort culinary industry?

ZJ: I already have, and it starts by me asking them, “why are you here?” and “what do you want to get out of this?” I have never received the answer I was looking for and the answer I gave back when I was asked that by my first sous chef I worked under. If your answer isn’t to be the best chef you can be, then I’d say that’s the outlook it takes.

See everything that happens around you. Study everyone and everything. Learn something new everyday. Work on what you need to learn when no one else is working or looking. The goal is to know everything that happens in the kitchen you’re in and know without a doubt that you can do it the best and you do it right when no one is looking. Once you know that, it’s about tweaking things to make them your own and to improve them at the same time.

My best advice is to be the leader and chef you want to be now. Be it before you even get the title. Lead by example. You can’t expect the team to do what they haven’t seen you do or what they think you aren’t willing to do. Leading by example, knowledge, skill, ability to teach while continuing to learn, and advancing everyone’s craft are among the most important pieces of advice I have to share.

C+RC: Can you share a personal challenge you've faced in your career and explain how it has shaped you as a chef?

ZJ: Becoming Interim Executive Chef at the age of 29. Not only that, but I had no other management in the culinary department around me. I successfully managed the kitchen to keep the club open and running for six months without any other leadership. It was just me and my team on the line and banquet cooks putting in the hours and work to offer our members the dining experience they’d come accustomed to experiencing. It shaped me by showing me what it took to not only be great, but to even succeed in this industry. It also showed me how much the team around you relies on leadership but also how much I as leader needed them. You can’t do this job on your own; you need teamwork. You need to develop the members of your team individually and as a unit, and every member of the team needs to be brought into the vision you have as the leader.

C+RC: What are your future goals and your plan to achieve them?

ZJ: Become an Executive Chef. My plan is to get back to working on ACF certifications and continue doing what I love, and that’s making phenomenal food. I’ve improved the member dining experience at each club I’ve worked at, but I’m still left feeling unsatisfied. Ultimately, it’s on me to continue to improve my craft and to help my culinary team around me do the same.

C+RC: What inspired your career in the club and resort sector?

ZJ: My first day of work when I walked into my first club’s kitchen. The ingredients and quality of food being worked with and prepared were something I had never seen before. I got to work with and learn under talented chefs. They offered me an opportunity to become the best at this craft. As someone who has been a competitor his entire life, I got to continue to compete to be the best at something I quickly grew to love. I also love how you are recognized for the same reasons you are as an athlete. If you work hard, truly dedicate yourself to the craft, you improve and show your skills on a daily basis, you can be rewarded.