chef ty

Chef Jonathan “Ty” Thames is a Mississippi native who started in the hospitality industry at the age fifteen at restaurants in Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi.   These experiences led him to pursue an undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management.  After college, he attended the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, where he graduated with distinction. After graduating, Chef Ty moved to Parma, Italy to pursue his culinary passion of Italian cuisine.

In Italy, he apprenticed under Chef Leonardo of Villa Maria Luigia restaurant in Collecchio.  Upon returning to the U.S., Chef Ty lived in Washington D.C., where he worked at The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown.  After gaining vast knowledge under the renowned chefs of The Ritz-Carlton, Chef Ty moved to the regional Italian fine dining restaurant Centro, located in the Bethesda, Maryland, where he was recognized by The Washington Times, The Washington Post, D.C. Style Magazine, and Washingtonian magazine, to name a few.

In 2005, Chef Ty left D.C. to pursue his dream of owning a restaurant in his native state of Mississippi. Traveling back to his roots, he settled in Starkville, Mississippi, bringing the best of what he had learned back to the Magnolia State. 

Chef Ty believes he has a responsibility to the community for what he cooks and serves. He is a believer in using natural ingredients, in even the most complex dishes, and preaches and practices accountability when it comes to chemicals and hormones in foods. Chef Ty believes all chefs should be aware of what is going on in our environment regarding over fishing, waste management, and the products we buy and sell. Chef Ty believes that chefs should burden the responsibility of educating others regarding the impacts these practices have on the industry.