Chef Jeffrey Orel

Chef Jeffrey Orel believes his culinary interests started when he was a toddler, walking through his mother's vegetable garden with a salt shaker, ready to pick ripe vegetables for lunch. Today, he's still walking the fields looking for the ripest morsels, but now he's accompanying local farmers like those at Fossil Farms in Boonton and Vacchiano Farms in Washington Township, who provide much of the fresh pork products and perfect New Jersey Fresh tomatoes for the menus at Rod's Steak & Seafood Grille.

Chef Jeffrey, who earned a business degree from the University of Florida before graduating from Johnson & Wales University at the top of his class, also spent time in the garden while working under Michelin three-star chef Stephane Haissant at the iconic LaTour d'Argent in Paris. There he worked the entire brigade system for 18 months, and actually spent days picking fresh thyme for the days' recipes. The work was arduous and exacting, and he's proud of the fact that, unlike many others, he wasn't yelled at very much in the kitchen.

Back in the U.S., he took the helm at the prestigious Edgewater Beach Hotel & Club by Waldorf Astoria, worked as Executive Chef at Viridian in Washington, D.C. and as Corporate Executive Chef at Chi Bistro in Denver.

Most recently, as an operations chef for McCormick & Schmick Seafood Restaurant Group, he worked side-by-side with D.C. Celebrity chef Allison Swope in the redevelopment of the M&S Grille and on their "Kids Are People Too" program. Before joining Rod's he headed his own company, Hospitality Consultants LLC.

Jeff has appeared as a guest chef at numerous food world events, including the Unique & Unusual Food Show and The Metropolitan Cooking Show in Washington, D.C. and a has hosted "Taste of D.C." cooking shows. When he's not cooking, he's likely to be mountain-biking or savoring his favorite food – barbecue.

As Executive Chef at Rod's Steak & Seafood Grille, a landmark restaurant in Morristown, New Jersey with a host of fine dining awards, he is in his element,catering to a demanding clientele, sourcing the finest ingredients and planning some exciting additions to the menu. But in the end his philosophy is simple: "It's all about the guest – I'm here to prepare the food people really enjoy eating."

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