JENNIFER PARENT + JOHNNA CHRISTIANSON

In the beginning of the new century, Jennifer and Johnna met at a dinner party. They talked about food, they talked about recipes they had tried, techniques they had perfected, and kitchen disasters they had suffered.

Both of the ladies were intrigued by one another’s culinary insights. Johnna was a graduate of Napa Valley Cooking School and had worked her way through the kitchens of many of Napa’s most popular haunts. Jennifer was an art student who had decided to focus on food as her new medium, enjoying the balance of aesthetics and taste, and the complexity of plating food. A partnership was born. Johnna’s perfected culinary talents brought lightning speed knife cuts and precise timing to the table, while Jennifer’s history as a coordinator of a festival kitchen brought the ability to serve lunch for a thousand with grace.

Fast forward a decade, J Catering has evolved into a boutique company, catering to clients who share the love of handcrafted cuisine — from the garden’s bounty — as Jennifer and Johnna do.