Our Team

JOSEPH LENN Chef & Owner

Chef Joseph Lenn is a fifth-generation Tennessean, born and raised 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 instilled the value of care, attention, and good ingredients. After working as a butcher at Butler and Bailey Market in Knoxville, he chose to pursue a culinary career and enrolled at Johnson & 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 and Jacques Larson. He later joined the opening team at The Hermitage Hotel’s Capitol Grille in Nashville before returning to East Tennessee to continue his work with Chef Fleer.

Over the following years at Blackberry Farm, Joseph advanced through multiple roles, ultimately becoming one of only four chefs 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 & 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 Southeastern ingredients and traditions cooked over an open wood fire. Since its debut, J.C. Holdway has earned widespread national acclaim from The New York Times, Esquire, Garden & Gun, and Eater, and is recommended by the MICHELIN Guide. Notably, The New York Times named it one of the "50 Best Restaurants in America" in 2025. The following year, Joseph was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Chef and the restaurant was recognized among USA TODAY’s Best Restaurants in the country—accolades that reflect a steadfast commitment to careful cooking, Appalachian identity, and thoughtful hospitality.