My
Story
Growing up in the small a town in Upstate NY, Jon was the son of a Carpenter and Social Worker. Jon started washing dishes at a local restaurant at the age of 14. It just so happened that restaurant (The Palmer House Cafe, Rennselearville, NY) was considered one of the best restaurants in the Capital Region. What better way to start a Culinary career than to be introduced to Sourdough bread production at the age of 14. After a 5 year stint with The Palmer House, Jon attended The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY.
​
After attending the CIA, Jon set his sights on California's Napa Valley where he fell in love with the Mediterranean food and Climate. Jon spent much of his 20s working through many of the top kitchens and traveling the state and beyond skateboarding and trying to balance his creative passions as Cook and a Skateboarder. In 2003 Jon walked away from a lead line position at a SF Chronicle Top 100 rated and the soon to be Michelin Starred Restaurant TERRA to hit the road building concrete Skateboard parks all over the country and beyond. In between skateparks Jon would still head Back to the CIA Greystone Compass in St. Helena and pick up shifts as a TA (Teachers Assistant) or working some of the Special Events.
​
After about 3 years the road life and living out of suitcases got old and Jon found the call back to the Kitchen too strong to ignore. In 2006 Jon took his first head Chef position as the opening Chef De Cuisine for Mulvaney's Building and Loan in Sacramento, CA. This was an amazing opportunity and perfect opportunity for Jon as he was not only able to help with the design and set up of the restaurant but the restaurant a deep commitment to local farmers and suing top tier product and producing everything from scratch, Mulvaney's stood out immediately as the best restaurant in Sacramento and still is making an impact on the dinning scene today.
​
Jon moved on to run Fork in San Anselmo followed by Jeanty At Jack's in San Francisco, However this was during the recession of 2008 and decline of fine dining across the country. Food Trucks started taking off in Portland, OR and Austin, Tx. but nothing was really happening in the SF Bay Area. Jon had approached had to fight the country of Alameda and the Cities of Oakland, Emeryville and Alameda to work with their health, police and fire departments to adjust the rules for food trucks and street food vendors. After nearly a year journey Jon's Street Eats was finally born and was the first "New School" food truck fully dedicated to the streets. Jon's Street Eats made a huge impact on the the Bay Area food scene and really pioneered the way for many food trucks to follow.
​
After maintaining the top slot on yelp for over a year and garnering national attention Jon sold JSE in 2011 with hope of starting a brick and mortar restaurant. It took nearly two more years to secure the space , remodel and open Marrow. Marrow ( Oakland ) was a true nose to tail concept Jon would buy one whole cow and one whole pig at a time and process the the entire animals into various changing dishes to maintain and daily changing menu. Marrow was another great hit and made a huge impact on the East Bay. However, a series of impactful events hit in the first half of 2015 and even though Marrow was positioned for expansion with multiple deals and partnerships on the table but with the Birth of Jon's First Child, Mother's Quintuple bypass, Father-in-laws dementia diagnosis and it was just too much to juggle and Marrow was closed 4th of July weekend after it's busiest Friday in sales.
​
Jon took some time off to reset worked with some friends doing some catering and reopened Marrow 6 moths after the passing of his long time friend Bahram Morid as Buma's a New York Style Pizzeria named for Bahram's nickname. Buma's was featured on the cover of the San Francisco Chronicle just 3 months later and the Pizzeria was clear hit and named Best of the East Bay along with a few other accolades. At the end of 2016 Jon sold Buma's and his home in Napa to move in a help his in-laws and welcome his second child. At this time it was clear the restaurant business was taking up too much time away from home and being a parent.
​
In 2018 the Kosorek Family moved to the Big Island of Hawaii and Jon embarked on a new journey of Building JMK Design & Co. a Design-Build and consulting firm dedicated to Chef inspired kitchens indoors and outdoor commercial and residential.
​
​
​
​