Johnathan Sundstrom, Chef/Owner
Lark, Seattle Washington
 John Sundstrom began formal training at New England Culinary Institute, in Montpelier, Vermont, in 1987 and went on to complete the two-year program with honors and an associates degree. After graduating from culinary school, John spent the next few years working in some of the country’s finest resort hotels, including; the 5-star Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Club XIX at the Lodge at Pebble Beach and Stein Ericksen Lodge.
He moved to Seattle in 1991, worked at raison d'etre, Campagne, and Café Sport, learning about local ingredients and meeting northwest farmers and foragers. He cooked at Dahlia Lounge, was promoted to sous chef within a year, and named chef a year later, working closely with owner Tom Douglas developing the restaurant to one of national prominence.
In 2003, he opened Lark, a rustic neighborhood restaurant in Seattle’s Capitol Hill. working with local artisans, farmers, and foragers for an ever-changing selection that offers the best of each season, including Oregon's magnificent truffles. Sundstrom’s version of small plates is intended to inspire communal dining with waves of courses coming to your table, a blend of simple, seasonal, classic, and adventurous dishes.
John has been featured on the TVFood Network’s “Best of” Show and Bobby Flay’s “Food Nation”. Also John was one of 13 top chefs featured in the PBS original series “Chefs a-field”, which was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2003. John’s 30 minute episode showed him trekking through the Olympic Mountains in search of wild mushrooms with one of his foragers, and then cooking two recipes featuring those ingredients. In May of 2005, John was nominated for “Best Chef Northwest/Hawaii” by the James Beard Foundation, and in 2007 he was nominated and won the Beard award for Best Chef Northwest.
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