JONATHON SAWYER

Kindling Downtown Cookout & Cocktails

Chef Jonathon Sawyer is the Chef Partner of Kindling Downtown Cookout & Cocktails owned and operated by Chicago’s Fifty/50 Group. In this role, Chef Sawyer contributes his culinary expertise and passion to the development and creation of the menu, brand and vision behind Kindling.

Prior to joining The Fifty/50 Group, Chef Sawyer owned and operated three nationally recognized restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio. Before Chef Sawyer rose to culinary fame in Cleveland, the Chicago-native embarked on a much different path in pursuing an engineering degree that left him bored and uninspired. He was able to escape the world of mathematics thanks to his job at a local Dayton Ohio restaurant, where he would cook wood-fired dishes every night after class, which reminded him of when he first fell in love with cooking at the age of 13. Throughout Chef’s career, he’s won a roster of notable awards for his work. In 2010, Chef Sawyer won Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef” award. In 2015, Chef Sawyer won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. In 2021, after relocating back to his hometown of Chicago, Chef Sawyer’s restaurant, Adorn Bar & Restaurant, was included in the 2021 Michelin Guidebook.

Chef Sawyer has also become a fan-favorite TV personality, appearing on national program such as The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Chopped, Top Chef, The Dish, Bobby Flay’s Triple Threat, Tournament of Champions, Wild Card Kitchen, and 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, where he was crowned the 2025 winner.