Our Team | Meet the People Behind J.C. Holdway

JOSEPH LENN Chef & Owner

Chef Joseph Lenn grew up in Knoxville, where food and family traditions shaped his earliest memories. He learned to cook from his mother and grandmother, guided by simple lessons that grounded him in the value of care, attention, and good ingredients. After working at Butler and Bailey Market in Knoxville and cooking for friends and family, he chose to pursue a culinary career and enrolled at Johnson and Wales University in Charleston.

Joseph’s professional path began in earnest when he accepted an internship under Chef John Fleer at Blackberry Farm. During his time in Charleston he also worked at Peninsula Grill under Chef Robert Carter, cooking alongside future industry leaders, including Sean Brock. He later joined the opening team at The Hermitage Hotel’s Capitol Grill in Nashville before returning to East Tennessee to continue his work with Chef Fleer.

Over the next several years at Blackberry Farm, Joseph advanced through multiple roles, becoming one of only four chefs ever to serve as Executive Chef of The Barn at Blackberry Farm. He is the only one of the four to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast and the only one to return to Knoxville to open a restaurant that reflects the foodways of his home region. During his tenure he was also named a Grand Chef by Relais and Châteaux. His leadership and mentorship helped shape a generation of cooks, many of whom have since opened restaurants of their own.

In 2016, Joseph opened J.C. Holdway in the historic Daylight Building in downtown Knoxville, a space that had captured his attention years earlier. Named in honor of his uncle, the restaurant celebrates the ingredients and traditions of the Southeast, prepared over a wood fire. Since opening, J.C. Holdway has earned recognition from publications including The New York Times, Esquire, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, and Eater. In 2025, the restaurant was named one of The New York Times “50 Best Restaurants in America,” a reflection of Chef Lenn’s continued dedication to careful cooking, Appalachian identity, and a warm and thoughtful approach to hospitality.