About Tournant
Mona + Jaret
Food, Fire, Nature, Togetherness
Jaret and Mona love food and feeding people. After years spent cooking in restaurants on both coasts, they met while working at Portland Farmers Market, where their passion for community, cooking from the source and one another blossomed.
Tournant is a French word meaning turning point or watershed moment. With Tournant, Jaret and Mona have sought to create something meaningful and new. Their seminal farm-to-fire approach to cooking celebrates time, place and purpose. Often served outdoors in nature, their meals are guided by the seasons and local bounty from land and sea. Though ephemeral, these dining experiences create space for guests to slow down, connect, savor the moment, and create lasting memories.
Also translating to turning or revolving, the name is meant to capture the multifaceted nature of Tournant’s offerings, which include imaginative and immersive dining experiences, bespoke events for private clients, partners and brands, a charming dining room for gatherings and collaborations in Dayton, Oregon, open-fire cooking classes, and slow food and lifestyle retreats held around the globe.
Joe Rodriguez, CDC + CFO (Chief Fire Officer)
Joe Rodriguez was born and raised in Indiana with a curious mind and a hunger for knowledge and new experiences. His lifelong career in food was born in Manhattan, where he worked at the famed vegan restaurant Angelica Kitchen before becoming enchanted by the world of chocolate. Joe honed his craft alongside master chocolatier Jaques Torres, then moved across the country to become head chocolatier at Portland’s beloved Alma Chocolate before delving into the specialized world of bean-to-bar production at Woodblock Chocolate.
Time spent working with farmers at Portland Farmers Market led to stints working on local farms, creating a deep reverence for and connection to the land, the people who tend it, and food that has been grown and raised with integrity.
As the Chef de Cuisine of Tournant, Joe takes great care and pride in transforming seasonal food from farm to fire. Known affectionately as Tournant’s CFO (“Chief Fire Officer”), Joe has created memorable meals from the flames on mountain tops and river banks, from desert bluffs to ocean shores, all with his signature heart, hard work and devotion to technique and flavor.
The Tournant Family
Three cheers for The Chambray Army! The extraordinary team of chefs, caretakers, creatives, dreamers and doers that share their hearts, hands and talents with us truly make the dream of Tournant possible.