Meet Our Chef

Chef & Owner, Concha Me Crazy, Johnny Rivers' Smokehouse & BBQ Co.

Johnny Rivers, chef and restaurateur, was born in Orlando,FL and as a child he was always eager to help his mother, Johnnie Mae, in the kitchen. By age 13, he began his restaurant career as a breakfast cook at the Cherry Plaza Hotel in downtown Orlando.

His leap to notoriety started in 1970 when he joined Walt Disney World Resort prior to opening. He was on the culinary executive team that opened all the new Disney Resorts, and in 1989, he was named corporate executive chef. In his 25-year Disney career, he orchestrated the openings of more that 100 restaurants and food operations, including eateries in theme parks and hotels at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland. In the 1980's, his Disney team at the international culinary Olympics won dozens of gold and silver medals.

In 1992, Rivers was awarded the American Culinary Federation's Chefs' Professionalism Award. He is a recipient of an honorary Doctor of Culinary Arts Degree from Johnson & Wales University.

In 1995, Rivers left Disney to create JR International Enterprises Inc. and opened the popular Johnny Rivers' Smokehouse & Seafood and Johnny Rivers' Catering. The Smokehouse concepts has expanded to include Johnny Rivers' Smokehouse Express, with three locations. JR International also is a consultant for myriad restaurants in the United States, Asia and Europe, and for major national chains, including Darden Restaurants.

Concha Me Crazy is the latest concept for this award-winning chef, who for 40 years has traveled about the globe to perfect the dazzling Caribbean-Asian fare for his hot new downtown Orlando eatery just blocks from the site of the old Cherry Plaza Hotel, bringing him full circle to the place he started his cooking career.

He has cooked for U.S. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton, and for South African President Nelson Mandela. He has appeared on national television programs including Good Morning America, the Today Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show and Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee. His recipes appear in the American Cancer Society's Family Recipes of Black American Chefs, a compendium of heart-healthy traditional recipes.

Rivers has been interviewed and written about in many publications including Time magazine, National's Restaurant News, Redbook, Southern Living, Bon Appetit, Chef magazine, Food Arts, Better Homes & Gardens and Ebony.

He is actively involved in the Central Florida Community, participating in countless fundraisers, from "Taste of the Nation" to a host of events primarily supporting area youth. And he has received numerous awards that testify to his culinary excellence, including recognition in Orlando Magazine's Golden Palm Awards, Florida Trend's Golden Spoon Awards and the Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards.

Rivers is often quoted to say "Good health begins by thinking good thoughts".