CHICAGO — Former Clevelander and James Beard Award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer has won the second season of The Food Network’s “24 in 24: Last Chef Standing.”
The show is hosted by Esther Choi and former Cleveland chef and James Beard Award winner Michael Symon.
The show challenges 24 chefs to take on 24 challenges over 24 non-stop hours. Chefs work three consecutive eight-hour shifts, demonstrating skill creativity and stamina. As the clock ticks, lowest-scoring chefs are eliminated. In the end one chef stands alone … and takes home the $50,000 prize.
Sawyer posted the following announcement on his Instagram account:
“Well, we have a new champion of ‘Last Chef Standing 24 in 24’ & he’s a 45-year-old Taurus with three years of sobriety coming up next week. YaY it me, I’m him.”
“I’m so humbled to be able to compete with so many outstanding chefs, I’m so honored to get to tell some of my sobriety story, I’m so grateful to be alive & healthy today. This win & the funds it affords us to start The Sawyer Foundation are truly making a dream come true.
“Giving us the opportunity to eliminate the stigmas associated with addiction, to help those in our industry seeking recovery & to continue to support those in their sober journey.”
Sawyer threw respect at the seriousness of the Food Network competition.
“I gotta say I’ve done a lot of culinary competitions and nothing could’ve ever prepared me for what the 24 in 24 experience is, truly testing your everything skill, spirit, stamina, culinary acumen, adaptability, attitude & so much more.”
“Behind the curtain there were moments where champions of our industry (myself included) had had enough and contemplated just going home.”
Sawyer left Cleveland in 2020 after restaurant closings (The Greenhouse Tavern, Trentina, Sawyer’s). He is chef-partner at Kindling Downtown Cookout & Cocktails, a spacious 17,000 square-foot restaurant that opened in early 2024.
RELATED: Where’s Jonathon Sawyer? Cooking and grilling at Kindling in Chicago
