Born and raised in Georgia, Jennifer Lee Jackson learned to cook at a young age from both of her grandmothers. Originally a Political Science major, she found her true passion while cooking at a restaurant during college. Mentored by the restaurant’s chef, she was inspired to apply to culinary school, redirecting her career toward the culinary arts.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America with an associate degree in Culinary Arts, where she met her current partner Justin Tootla ’09, she completed an externship at Chez Panisse. She then moved to New York City, where she worked at Prune, training under Chef Gabrielle Hamilton.
After relocating to Colorado and then Chicago, Jennifer settled in Detroit, MI with Justin. In 2017, they opened Voyager, a seafood forward restaurant that garnered spots on the Best New Restaurant lists of Food & Wine, Esquire, Eater, and Thrillist. In 2020, Jennifer and Justin opened Bunny Bunny, which received matching accolades despite the difficulty of the pandemic. Since finishing their time as consultants and co-executive chefs at Gilchrist Farm Winery, they have been traveling and consulting while searching for Bunny Bunny’s next home. She and Justin competed together on season 23 of Bravo’s reality-TV show Top Chef.