CHEF JK Travels

02/07/2024

Place your votes for Bistro Polaris at Black Star Farms as Best Winery Restaurant and The Inn as the Best Wine Country Hotel!

04/04/2024

13/02/2024

I am excited to announce my CHEF JK Travels 2024 Food & Wine Tours to Italy!! Please contact me for additional information and reservations. Ciao ciao!

05/02/2024

I am excited to announce my CHEF JK Travels 2024 Food & Wine Tours to Italy!! Please contact me for additional information or reservations. Ciao ciao!

10/06/2023

I am so excited to welcome Rolando Beramendi to Black Star Farms (his first time in Northern Michigan)! Please join us for an AUTENTICO experience - a Farm Dinner on Saturday 17 June, and a Farm Brunch on Sunday 18 June. Our menus will feature Rolando's AUTENTICO recipes, using our local farm products with his artisanal Italian pantry ingredients. We will share food, wine, stories, and the importance of farmers, artisans, local foods, and traditions... the menu is under construction!🙂

15/05/2023

PASSPORT TO ITALY cooking classes with CHEF JK Travels at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. Join me this summer!

15/05/2023

They’re here…….!!!

15/05/2023

They're here.......!!!

10/05/2023

Please join me for dinner as we celebrate with a menu full of mushrooms Friday May 19 at Black Star Farms!

30/04/2023

Cinque Terre this fall… 4 seats left!

30/04/2023

CINQUE TERRE 2023 - only 4 spots left on the Florence - Cinque Terre Tour with CHEF JK Travels, September 28 - October 10

10/04/2023

Time for a Friday introduction🙋‍♂️

As we move in to the weekend we wanted to take a moment to welcome our new Estate Chef👨‍🍳 John Korycki!

An avid cyclist 🚴‍♂️ and proponent of healthy Mediterranean cuisine, John earned his Culinary degree at The Culinary School of Kendall College in Evanston Illinois.

John’s early love for pizza is what began a 30+ year career in Italian cuisine, with his first job as a pizzaiolo making Chicago-style thin-crust 🍕 in his southside neighborhood.

Mentoring under James Beard Award-Winning Chef Paul Bartolotta at Chicago’s Spiaggia restaurant in 1992, John began his career-long quest to learn everything about Italy’s varied regions, food cultures, and 🍷.

In 2004 Chef Korycki landed in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to open Zazios 🇮🇹 Restaurant. For over ten years, John grew relationships with local farmers to produce a seasonal farm-to-table menu enhanced with the best products imported from Italy.

Since 2006, John has visited Italy every year, leading small groups of guests on culinary adventures with his company CHEF JK Travels. We are so excited for John to bring his experience, skill, and worldly tastes to Black Star Farms. Welcome to the family, Chef!

09/03/2023

CINQUE TERRE
Join me on this incredible tour of the Tuscan and Ligurian coast – The Italian Riviera!

We will begin in beautiful Florence and make our way through the rolling Tuscan countryside full of vineyards to the gorgeous Ligurian Sea. We’ll climb the Carrara Mountains via LandRover to view the Marble Quarries and relax in quaint seaside villages – Lerici, Manarola, Camogli – as we learn the rich history and culture of this lush, rugged coastline.

Come join me for fabulous meals, fantastic wines, and never-ending searches for the best gelato! Ciao Ciao!

25/02/2023

Cinque Terre Tour, Fall 2023...

22/02/2023

Happy Pączki Day

20/09/2022

20/09/2022

So happy and excited to be traveling again! We started off our 11 day tour in Rome. Next stops will be Napoli and the Sorrento Coast.

11/07/2022

It’s Summer Time!

29/06/2022

"Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride." - Anthony Bourdain

29/06/2022

20/06/2022

07/02/2022

I am excited to announce the 2022 Chef JK Travels series of Culinary Tours to Italy!
With an overwhelming response selling out my Puglia Tour, I have added Rome – Naples – Sorrento to this fall’s touring calendar. From the Eternal City through the beautiful Coast of Sorrento, I am thrilled to lead guests and explore historic cities, taste our way through wineries, and meet artisanal food producers in these regions. Only 6 seats left for this tour!

Please contact me for detailed information and to learn more about Chef JK Travels for 2023 and beyond! I hope you can join me this fall…

Grazie & Ciao!

Chef JK