Jorel Pierce

Jorel Pierce
Chef de Cuisine

It seems that Denver natives are as rare as the white truffle, but Denver-born Jorel Pierce is the exception that proves the rule, even graduating from Johnson and Wales University in the Mile High City.

Kitchen stints as diverse as Le Manoir aux Quat Saison in Oxford, England, Willie G's and other chain operations in Denver led Pierce to the kitchen of Rioja as a line cook where he told the other cooks he would be sous chef in just a few weeks. Chef Jennifer Jasinski promoted him after 18 months and he has never looked back. Jorel traces his interest in food to early home experiences where he was exposed to complex, exotic flavors and participated in hunting and foraging. He loved the act of cooking and eating and fell in love with the techniques and foundations that outline great cuisine.

Self described as passionate, intense and ambitious, Jorel lists Marco Pierre White, Thomas Keller and Rioja Chef/Owner Jennifer Jasinski as culinary inspirations for widely disparate reasons. Pierre White preaches all out utilization of ingredients, Keller pursues perfection and Jasinski has driven Pierce to fulfill his dreams. He loves to cook to jazz music all day but defaults to bluegrass when the world gets crazy.

As a sous chef at Rioja, Pierce learned management techniques, ingredient utilization and inspired cooking from his fellow workers and chefs. He applies those lessons as Chef de Cuisine at Stoic & Genuine.

Pierce’s stint at Euclid Hall was a hit. Since opening in 2010. Westword named it “Best New Restaurant” and named Jorel “Best Rising Star Chef”. 5280 magazine also included Euclid Hall in their roundup of Best New Restaurants for 2010. In 2012 we were Included in Zagat’s America’s Top Restaurants 2012 and named Westword’s “Best Place for Pig Parts” and “Best Place to Pair Beer and Food.” In 2019, Pierce was named one of StarChefs Colorado Rising Stars.

2013 was a busy year for Jorel. He appeared in Top Chef season 10 and Top Chef Masters season 4 as a sous chef to Jennifer Jasinski. Their team made it all the way to the finale. He has since been nominated twice for the James Beard Foundation for Rising Star Chef of the Year.

He traded in his sausage stuffer for a fish spatula in July, 2014 and took the helm of the newest entrant into the Crafted Concepts family – Stoic & Genuine in Denver’s Historic Union Station. Stoic & Genuine has been twice named one of 5280’s Best Restaurants and Best New Restaurants, chosen as Best Seafood Restaurant by Westword and the Denver Post called it, “Great.”

Most recently, Pierce had been the “Steward of Food” for all four Crafted Concepts restaurants.

Pierce lives in the Denver suburbs with his wife Lindsey, their daughter Carly and their Persian kitten Gizmo.