Finding the best ingredients for The Cache, Café, Bakery, Coffee Shop and Teaching Kitchen can be a complex game of whack-a-mole, but Jason is up for the challenge, bringing a wealth of experience and tireless energy to his role as G&B’s Purchasing Manager.
A Colorado native, Jason grew up in Sterling and started cooking at an early age. “Right out of high school I worked in the second largest kitchen in the US at the Grand Canyon Lodge at Yellowstone.”
Climbing the ranks in the beef industry came next, where he moved from quality assurance to supervisory roles, as well as production, sales and purchasing. “I really know my beef,” Jason said.
He expanded his purchasing repertoire purchasing and negotiating contract for nuts and bolts to grains, doughs and batters. “Then I worked for a company buying all the proteins for 19 different restaurants across all different categories, aggregating their spend together.”
A few more corporate roles followed, “Then I got fed up with the lifestyle and started own handyman business doing basement remodels and bathroom installs.”
But when the role at G&B came up, Jason came aboard. “I like that I get to do a little bit of everything,” Jason said. “When anything needs to be done in the building, I’m there for it.”
“I love being able to use my purchasing skills one day and my knife skills another day,” he said. “I can build a house or a spreadsheet or a seven-layer cake.”
When not working, Jason is an avid outdoorsman, backpacking, hiking, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, rock and ice climbing and snowshoeing. “I’m also a huge live music fan of all genres, a bit of a home chef and have two kids and two grandkids.”
His favorite pie? “Pecan pie, it was my dad’s favorite and one we always had at every holiday event.”
