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J. J. Minetola
..Executive Chef , Tsunami, Annapolis
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“My stepfather got me interested in cooking. He ran the
kitchen at O’Leary’s, although he never called himself
a chef, always a cook. When I was 14, he got me
a job as a dishwasher. From there, I did a variety of jobs,
including cooking. I went to college, but at the end of two
years, I knew that I really wanted to be a chef. So I
returned to the restaurant business, including spending
8 months at Equinox as aline cook. I’ve been at
Tsunami for five years now.”
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“When I’m not in the kitchen, I relax by reading cookbooks, running and mountain biking. I recently ran a ten-miler with one of the owners of Tsunami.
And I like to eat out at good restaurants and get new ideas. I go out for Asian food, which is what we serve at Tsunami, but also for other kinds of food, too.”
“The best part of my job is cooking. I love food. Cooking is a great creative outlet….A great meal includes great ingredients and balanced flavors. I like to research ingredients. We work with a lot of purveyors to get the very best stuff. Keany is great. Their Chef Specialty List provides great new products to try.”
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"Chef J. J. Minetola and Line Cook Darby Butts look over a new dish in the kitchen at Tsunami"
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“ My mentors include Todd Gray, Brendan Cox and Tony Chittum of Equinox. Tony taught me discipline
. When he caught me using tongs to turn a piece of
fish, he took them away to force me to use a
spatula—the correct tool.”
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“My advice to someone who wants to be a great
chef is to find a great chef to work for. Find a
good mentor to learn from.
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