Intimate dinners at home with friends have been making a comeback, due partly to a rise in the cost of living. But the trend also reflects people’s desire to connect with one another, especially with those outside of their social circle. Learning about new cuisine and wines, enjoying a delicious meal, and participating in engaging conversation: this is the trifecta of the ultimate dinner party.
Few people know this better than Jesse Jone, a classically trained chef and author, who commends the art of a great dinner party. “Not only is it an opportunity to try new foods, or new ways of preparing favorites,” he says, “it’s also a great way to widen your social circle, dining with people you might never meet otherwise.”
With a population of nearly 50,000 residents (2022 United States Census Bureau), West Orange is a township known for its population diversity, with several downtown areas. Most people, however, travel within their own circle of friends and it’s unlikely they will meet interesting people from different areas of town or from different backgrounds. This is where dinner parties can play a key role, Chef Jesse points out.
While dinner parties of past decades might have been elaborate affairs, today’s dinner parties offer a more relaxed, casual vibe. “They usually consist of around 8 to 10 people with the goal of having fun,” says Jones, known affectionately as Chef Jesse. “It’s a party where guests can enjoy a glass of wine and appetizers in the kitchen, while watching the chef prepare the food, and then move to the dining room for the main course. All the while, sharing stories with one another.”
Chef Jesse was born in Newark and grew up in New Jersey, living the last 3 years in West Orange with his wife, Annette, and two sons. However, his culinary roots are in North Carolina, where he watched while his grandmother cooked food over her cast iron stove. Today, many of those classic southern dishes from his childhood have migrated their way to his contemporary cuisine. “I take a French modern approach to southern cooking, putting my own spin on everything,” he says.
There are five chefs who served as his top influences. “The first one is my late mom, Chef Mildred Jones, a great chef but she didn’t like to be called one,” he says. “Chef Walter Krupna Jr., who taught me so much as a young cook; plus, Chefs Dennis Foy, Craig Shelton, and David Drake.”
His favorites dishes, he adds, are oxtails, fried chicken, ribs, and ossobuco, an Italian dish consisting of veal shanks braised with vegetables, broth, and white wine, served with either polenta or risotto.
The award-winning chef recognizes that modern times present certain challenges when it comes to preparing food. “Today, you have many different dietary requests, from people who are allergic to certain foods, or those who are vegetarians or vegans,” he says. “I try to accommodate them when I can.”
Over the years, he has served many celebrities through Chef Jesse Concepts, his catering company. They include Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg from The View, Cool and the Gang, Tyler Perry, and singer-songwriter John Legend, among others. In addition, he has appeared on several media outlets, sharing recipes from his book, POW! My Life in 40 Feasts (Jesse Jones, Linda West Eckhardt: Outskirts Press, Colorado; November 2017). POW, he adds, stands for Passion, Opportunity, Work, which sums up his philosophy.
Chef Jesse’s career began as a dishwasher at Aramark, making his way up to sous chef. Since then, he has served as executive chef at AT&T, overseeing a staff of 60, before he transitioned to restaurants. He received his classically training at Hudson Community College’s Culinary Arts Institute. Chef Jesse, former owned Heart & Soul Restaurant in South Orange, and has hosted live cooking demonstrations at Bloomingdale’s and Savory Spice Shop, and at private parties.
Today, he donates his time and services to the northern New Jersey community, participating in events and fundraisers for first responders, Newark Institute of Culinary Education, HealthCorps, Project Self Sufficient, St. Peter’s Orphanage, and the American Cancer Society.
He also conducts cooking demos for young people. “Most young people interested in becoming cooks have never been inside a professional kitchen,” he says, recalling a time when a young woman just walked out in frustration. He referenced The Bear, a television series starring Jeremy Allen White as Chef Carmy, who returns to his native Chicago to manage a hectic kitchen at a sandwich shop left behind by his brother before he passed away. He says the show accurately depicts a kitchens behind-the-scene chaos and fast pace. “It can be a crazy and stressful place, but that’s all part of being a chef,” he says.
Website: www.chefjessejones.com
it’s also a great way to widen your social circle, dining with people you might never meet otherwise.”
“It’s a party where guests can enjoy a glass of wine and appetizers in the kitchen, while watching the chef prepare the food and then move to the dining room for the main course."