Biography of Jason Knibb

Jason Knibb joined the staff of NINE-TEN Restaurant at the historic Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla, California, in September of 2003.  Knibb was formerly with Robert Redford's Sundance Village, where he served as executive chef for all food & beverage operations located on the resort property, including the Foundry Grill and the renowned Tree Room restaurant.

Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica and raised in Southern California, Knibb has trained under some of this country's most celebrated chefs. He began his career working with Wolfgang Puck at L.A.'s Eureka restaurant. He then assisted famed Roy Yamaguchi with the opening of Roy's Kahana Bar & Grill in Maui. After returning to Southern California, he accepted the position of Chef Tournant under Hans Rockenwagner at Rockenwagner's in Santa Monica and the popular Rox restaurant in Beverly Hills. Venturing north, Knibb took over as Sous Chef at the San Francisco eatery, Moose's Café. He left San Francisco to oversee the opening of Malibu in Warsaw, Poland, where he trained the restaurant's kitchen staff and created its California Cuisine menus. Knibb returned to the U.S. in 1996 to become Sous Chef at Joe's Restaurant in Venice, California. Following a successful two-year endeavor at Joe's, he moved to Sundance, Utah in 1998 to work under La Jolla's own Trey Foshee at the famed Tree Room restaurant.  Knibb took over as the resort's Executive Chef upon Foshee's departure.

"Each of my mentors has a simple common philosophy about cooking," states Knibb. "They create regional cuisine using the freshest local products available. This is perfectly in sync with NINE~TEN's ‘earth-to-table’ approach."

Already a name in culinary circles across the country, Knibb has frequently appeared as a guest chef at the James Beard House, as well as The Food Network's "Cooking Live with Sara Moulton."  In 2003, he was a featured chef on Bobby Flay's "Food Nation – Best of Utah" program.   Knibb has amassed many awards and accolades for his style and cuisine, including the La Jolla Light’s “2005 Best Chef in La Jolla”, Salt Lake magazine's "Best Mountain Restaurant" award four times running and features in Food & Wine magazine’s "Best Breakfasts" issue and Jamaican Airlines Magazine’s in-flight publication, Sky Magazine.

"He is truly an ideal partner for us," says Terry Underwood, General Manager of The Grande Colonial.   "He blends the best of the environment with his own vision of new American cuisine by taking traditional dishes and giving them a simple, healthful new twist. Guests of NINE~TEN have come to love its constantly evolving California cuisine and we are committed to delivering the same style of cooking in new and more exciting ways through the eyes and hands of Chef Knibb."