“I remember sitting on the 1920 boiler in my Grandmother’s kitchen, watching her at work baking cake’s, pies, quiches and preparing meals for our entire extended family. I firmly believe that taking in all of the sights, smells and often tasty samples is where my love of food and cooking originated from. This is when I decided to leave my Geography degree to start my chef career at a 5-star hotel in Newcastle. I then went on to train under the Chez Roux brand and Roux consultant chef Tony Binks for a number of years.
It’s been 14 years since I first put on my chef’s whites and I still love what I do! Now owning and running Whiskers Wine Bar & Bistro since 2019, it’s been a challenging journey. Beginning with a struggle to get the site ready in time for opening, waiting almost a year for planning permission to install the kitchen extraction to a global pandemic which shut us down only 3 days after having a fully operational kitchen.
At Whiskers I want to show my love and passion for food and wine. It’s not my desire to set the world on fire with theatrical dishes but to provide fantastically fresh, seasonal and delicious food cooked from the heart. It is important for our guests to feel totally comfortable and to know that when they dine with us they receive amazing food and value for money every time.
The other important factor for me at Whiskers is to surround myself with people who love what they do as much as me. The staff are what make the wheels turn, and their enthusiasm, knowledge and passion makes the visit special for our guests. We treat everyone equally and fairly so that they all look forward to coming into work in the morning and I firmly believe that this reflects onto our customer experience.”
Head Chef & Proprietor, Jonathan Cook
