where is chef jason? ← back to the site
limited · 12 founding partners only
◆ partner with chef jason

back a chef.
not a campaign.

Join Sur La Table and a select group of founding partners backing a French Laundry-trained chef's 14-country world cooking tour. The first chef to document every step on the road to a Michelin star.
14
countries
383
days on the road
1M+
monthly impressions
20+
michelin stars · career
◆ the pitch · from jason

why i'm doing this.

valle de guadalupe, mexico · day 78 of 383

My first memory of food is cooking pancakes with my grandpa when I was four. I loved how food made people smile — and i've been chasing that feeling ever since.

I trained at Sea Island, a Forbes Five-Star property, then earned my way into The French Laundry under Thomas Keller. Three Michelin stars. Five years. That's where I learned what consistency actually means.

I staged in France at Maison Pic (3 stars) and Frenchie. Then I co-founded Truffle Shuffle, went on Shark Tank, and sold to ButcherBox. That chapter gave me freedom. This one is about focus.

Now I'm traveling the world cooking — stages at Florilège, Frantzen, Gaggan, a residency at Angama Mara in Kenya — documenting every step before opening Restaurant Elizabeth in New York City.

I work hard and I make tasty food. I'm looking for founding partners to join the story from the beginning.

— Jason.
chef · founder · on the road
Chef Jason.
the chef.
jason mckinney · founder, where is chef jason
◆ credentials · the resume

what he's done.

21 years · in kitchens
5y
at The French Laundry under Thomas Keller. Core Award recipient.
$13.3M
annual sales at Truffle Shuffle at time of acquisition.
3★
stages at Maison Pic and Frenchie in France.
ABC
Shark Tank S12. Mark Cuban deal. Sold to ButcherBox.
↳ the full timeline
◆ the show · what sponsors appear in

where is chef jason?

youtube · instagram · substack

Each episode I travel to a different part of the world and immerse myself in the local food culture.

I fish with fishermen. I forage with foragers. I cook with grandmothers, farmers, and street vendors. I learn their ingredients, their techniques, and their stories.

Then at the end of every stop, I cook a multi-course dinner using everything I've learned — a cultural exchange through food.

Part travel show, part cooking show, part documentary. Filmed and released on YouTube, with behind-the-scenes content on Instagram and long-form writing on Substack. Every episode builds toward the opening of Restaurant Elizabeth — where all of these techniques and flavors come together under one roof.

the journey in numbers.

  • countries14
  • days on road383
  • career stars20+ michelin
  • residencies7 hosted
  • collabs30+ restaurants
  • continents5
↳ as seen in
NBC
Forbes
Fox News
Kelly Clarkson
Eater
Shark Tank
◆ the itinerary · where your brand travels

the road ahead.

5 continents · 14 countries · by month
Japan.
Apr–May 2026 · done
Sola
Fukuoka
1 Michelin star. French technique meets Kyushu ingredients.
CIRE Tea Residency
Hioki / Kagoshima
Single-origin Japanese tea traditions. 1,300-year-old village.
Florilège
Tokyo
2 Michelin stars. Asia's 50 Best. Chef Yuya Kawate. 3-day stage.
Mexico.
May 2026 · currently here
Filming
Mexico City
Street food, markets, mole. The Mexico episode.
Wedding
Sayulita
Chef Jason marries Polina. Mid-tour. Honeymoon follows.
Content
Oaxaca
Mezcal, tlayudas, and the most complex cuisine in Mexico.
Japan.
Jun 2026 · next up
Osaka · Okinawa
Residency scout
Scouting the Osaka residency location. Research and sourcing.
La Bombance
Osaka
Stage. Traditional kaiseki meets modern Japanese technique.
Costa Rica · Colombia.
Jun 2026
Sikwa
San José, Costa Rica
Chef Pablo Bonilla. Indigenous Costa Rican cuisine. Pop-up #4 — Jun 13.
Selma
Bogotá, Colombia
Chef Álvaro Clavijo — trained at Noma and Per Se. Pop-up #5 — Jun 20.
Chile.
Jun–Jul 2026
Casa Molle
Valle de Chile
Chef Karim. 21-day chef residency. Pop-up #6.
Las Cujas
Valle de Chile
Chef Juan Pablo. Pop-ups #7–8. Wine country cooking.
Argentina · Uruguay · Brazil.
Jul–Aug 2026
Crizia
Buenos Aires
Chef Iara. Michelin-listed. Fire cooking. Pop-up #9 — Jul 18.
Manzanar
Montevideo
Chef Gustavo. Pop-up #10. The anchor pop-up of the South America leg.
Oteque
Rio de Janeiro
Chef Alberto Landgraf. Rio's finest table. Pop-up #11.
South Africa.
Aug–Sep 2026
F&F Luvhondo
Luvhondo
Bush residency. 28-day residency across the winelands and the wild.
Creation Wines
Stellenbosch
Top wine estate. Chef residency in the winelands.
Kenya.
Sep 2026
Angama Mara
Maasai Mara
Luxury bush camp. 24-day residency. Bush cooking in the wild.
Amboseli
Kenya
At the foot of Kilimanjaro. Extended residency scouting.
Japan.
Oct–Dec 2026
Waldorf Astoria Osaka
Osaka
31-day chef residency. Osaka's newest luxury hotel. Oct 15–Nov 15.
3-Michelin-star stage
Tokyo
The final stage of the tour. Three stars. Dec 1–14.
Restaurant Elizabeth.
2027 · NYC · opening night
New York City
opening night
The Michelin pursuit begins. Founding partners named. The book. The opening.
◆ the three ways · to partner

partnership tiers.

every tier · gets you into the story

Three ways to be part of the story. Every tier gets you into the journey — founding partners get the deepest integration. Category exclusivity on founding slots only.

most popular ◆ founding partner
Founding.
$2,000 / month
Deepest integration. Category exclusivity. Wall of Love forever.
  • Dedicated video featuring your product — full integration, not a mention
  • All content cleared for your brand's social channels
  • Category exclusivity — no competing brands on the tour
  • Founding partner credit at Restaurant Elizabeth (NYC, 2027)
  • Permanent Wall of Love placement in the restaurant
  • Quarterly performance recap — reach and engagement data
  • Logo on whereischefjason.com partners page
let's talk →
◆ core partner
Core.
$1,000 / month
Monthly organic features. Product on the road.
  • Monthly organic feature in tour content
  • 1 content piece per month cleared for your brand's social
  • Product shipped to Jason at each tour stop
  • Wall of Love placement at Restaurant Elizabeth
  • Logo on whereischefjason.com partners page
let's talk →
◆ product partner
Product.
$250 / month + product
Natural placement when we reach for your product.
  • Organic placement when product is naturally used
  • Brand tagged in all relevant posts
  • Listed on whereischefjason.com partners page
let's talk →
◆ the first to sign · founding partner

already on the tour.

founding slot · #01 of 12
◆ founding partner — signed
Sur La Table
Cookware & Culinary Partner
active · round 01
"It's very important to us that we partner with people who have an authentic love for the brand."
— Sur La Table
↳ 11 founding slots remaining · 3 presenting slots open
◆ the audience · who you reach

who's watching?

high intent · low noise
1M+
monthly impressions · across all platforms
reach
16K+
@whereischefjason · growing weekly
instagram followers
↗
new episodes weekly · fastest growing
youtube
Σ
food · travel · the journey
substack newsletter
Audience skews food-obsessed, travel-curious, 28–45. Culinary professionals, home cooks who take it seriously, people who already know what The French Laundry is. High intent, low noise.
◆ the deliverable · what you actually get

what a sponsored
episode looks like.

one founding slot · one month

This isn't a logo in the corner. A founding-partner month means your product is the reason a scene exists. Here's what ships.

◆ the film
one dedicated episode
on location.
Shot in the kitchen of the month. Your product is woven into the story — used, not held. Jason on-camera. Real cook, real meal.
  • ◇ youtube hero 8–12 min. full episode. main distribution.
  • ◇ ig reels × 3 cut-downs optimized for feed + reels.
  • ◇ btl photo set 10+ hero stills · brand cleared.
  • ◇ substack essay long-form piece · the story behind the shoot.
  • ◇ full rights every asset above · cleared for your channels.
◆ the timeline
wk 1
kickoff call · product ships
30 min w/ jason. brand intent. creative direction.
wk 2
on the ground · shoot
location scout, cook, film. you're tagged throughout.
wk 3
cut · review · approve
one review round. your flags, our edits.
wk 4
publish · assets delivered
yt + ig + substack go live. you get the files.
comparable production value
$8–15K per episode
at standard creator rates · for an integration this deep.
◆ frequently asked · before you email

the fine print.

straight answers · no marketing
Q 01
How long is the commitment?
Founding partners sign a 12-month term. Month-to-month after, as long as your category is still open. All rights to content you appeared in stay with you forever.
Q 02
What does category exclusivity mean?
If you're the cookware partner, no other cookware brand appears on the tour. Period. Founding tier only. Categories lock in signing order — it's first-in, first-locked.
Q 03
Do you do scripted ad reads?
No. Everything's organic to the cook. You approve creative direction up front, see a rough cut, and get one round of notes — but I won't read off a script on camera. It's why this works.
Q 04
When does Restaurant Elizabeth open?
2027, NYC. 14 seats. Founding partners are named on the permanent Wall of Love. Every founding partner gets a seat at opening night.
Q 05
How do I know it's working?
Quarterly recap: reach, engagement, link clicks, follower lift in your audience cohort. Real numbers, not vanity metrics. If it's not working, we'll both know.
Q 06
What happens after the tour?
Your brand becomes part of Restaurant Elizabeth's founding story — named on the wall, credited in press, in the cookbook, and carried forward into every future chapter. The partnership doesn't end when the tour does.
◆ limited to 12 founding partners

come on the road with me.

One conversation. Fifteen minutes. I'll walk you through exactly where your brand would live on the tour, what content you'd get, and how your name ends up on the wall at Elizabeth.

write to me → explore the full site
Jason@jointhecookingclub.com · @whereischefjason