John Amrein, Sous Chef

John Amrein was born in Denver, Colorado and spent his early childhood and adolescent years growing up in Sitka, Alaska. In Alaska, John was raised within the Tlingit tribe, a tribe consisting of indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. While most of John’s circle were fishing and hunting, John was in the kitchen cooking. John developed a love for cooking early on, a passion that would keep him out of trouble and continuously challenge him and push him in new directions. 

After graduating from University of Alaska with a culinary degree, young love struck and he followed his heart and flame to Massachusetts. While that relationship didn't work out (as young love often doesn't), he started a new relationship with New England itself and decided to stay to pursue the many culinary opportunities. John worked under Chef Jason Reed at Vicki Lee's bakery where he honed his craft for several years. John then joined the award winning team at Ledger and worked his way from line cook to Sous Chef after proving his loyalty, skills and creativity in the kitchen. John played an integral part in 'Ledger Basket' during COVID and helped keep the wheels turning... although he may never want to see a 'chicken bucket' again. 

John travels back to Alaska as much as he can to visit family and old friends. While visiting, he is known to take traditional Alaskan dishes and transform them into more eclectic dishes, something his family and friends anxiously await his return for. You can find John after work somewhere in Salem enjoying a Rye Manhattan and when at home, he’s usually putting Netflix to work watching obscure documentaries.