Top 100 Top Restaurateur: Chef Jon Bonnell
May 26,2017
Reposted from Fort Worth Business Press
By Courtney Dabney
Waters
301 Main St.
Fort Worth 76102
817-984-1110
Chef Jon Bonnell is best known nationally as one of the foremost experts on fine wild game and Texas cuisine. But locally, Bonnell is equally respected for being a positive spokesman for his hometown of Fort Worth as well as for his tireless work on behalf of local and national charities.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University and the prestigious New England Culinary Institute, he is the executive chef and owner of the Bonnell’s Restaurant Group, which includes his flagship restaurant, Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, and his acclaimed Waters Fine Coastal Cuisine, both of which are rated top six in the Zagat survey for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. His Buffalo Bros, Pizza Wings & Subs is a favorite sports bars in the Texas Christian University area and he is also the celebrity chef of TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium.
In 2017, Bonnell made his downtown presence known, uprooting his successful Waters restaurant from the West Seventh area and re-opening in Sundance Square. “Relocating to Sundance Square is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the timing is perfect,” he said at the time.
Bonnell has written three cookbooks: Jon Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, Jon Bonnell’s Texas Favorites and Jon Bonnell’s Waters Fine Coastal Cuisine. Don’t worry if you can’t locate a favorite recipe in one of his cookbooks; Bonnell’s passion for sharing knowledge with others means that there is never a technique or recipe that he won’t share.
He is a husband and father of two, a favorite radio and TV personality locally and nationally, and both a chef and a wine instructor. Bonnell is even an accomplished Ironman triathlete, having completed 83 running races (from the 5k on up) and 52 triathlons (from sprint distance to the full Ironman).
Bonnell is also a active philanthropist in the Fort Worth community, sitting on or participating in 14 boards and committees. He is a top fundraiser and an active liaison with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as well as a board member of the Neuroblastoma 5k Run. He serves on the advisory board of the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival (which raises money for the culinary education of local students), Foodie Philanthropy and Rivertree Academy. Bonnell’s influence can also be felt as a board member of Tarrant Area Food Bank, The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever and the Cowtown Marathon.