About the Bistro
Building New Door County Flavors, 90 Days At A Time
Ninety days at sea followed by 90 days at port started a young chef’s career and shaped the culinary perspective of the new chef of Bistro 42 at Door Peninsula Winery, Chef Thomas Jonet. Originally from Green Bay, Jonet began his love affair with food, as he put it, early on when he prepared food for the 125 person crew of the naval submarine where he was stationed. “When you live on a submarine for 90 days, you really want something to look forward to and many looked forward to their meals,” remarks Jonet. “I was able to learn the joy of food as an art form,” he continues as he describes how he became inspired by one of his officers. Maybe not the most glamorous beginning that we expect to hear from such an accomplished chef, but his 90 days at port would soon make up for life at sea. Jonet was stationed in Hawaii; his free labor to many of the world’s most remarkable hotels and resorts was an opportunity to grow his love affair and launched him into managing kitchens and food service to countless numbers of people.
Jonet soon found himself as the Foodservice Director for Country Jam, USA in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, one of the nation’s largest country music festivals, where he planned and implemented a menu that served over 130,000 guests and instructed over 300 staff. He then turned his talents towards education and training as Executive Chef for Sysco Foodservice. There, Jonet discovered that food sourcing and processing was overlooked by many chefs. “I had fish training, potato training, lamb training, etc.,” Jonet chuckles as he recalls preparing for demonstrations and teaching sales representatives about niche food products. Jonet really acted as a consultant to numerous chefs as they looked for new menu items or ideas on how to revitalize a menu item. The consulting aspect moved forward when he opened his own catering and foodservice solution business as well as teaching opportunities with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
Jonet is excited to bring his creativity to Bistro 42 and Door Peninsula Winery. His Executive Chef tenure has sharpened his skills to layer flavors that leave clients wishing they knew the ingredient list and wanting more. “If someone says, ‘I really like the garlic in that dish’ they probably used too much garlic. The best compliment someone could give is ‘That’s delicious. What is that?’,” he explains while he shares his culinary perspective in regard to marrying flavors. The new menu at Bistro 42 will be released July 9th and will certainly feature fresh olive oils and local wines. Make plans for lunch (and wine tasting) when in Door County.
