Over the years, Cannon, a longtime resident of Mountain Lakes, has owned five New York restaurants that each won three stars from the New York Times, most recently Marea.
Set to open in late August or September, Jockey Hollow, at 110 South Street, next to the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, will be Cannon’s first New Jersey restaurant.
Since late 2007, Sippel has been executive chef of the cooking studio at Italian Wine Merchants in New York. He has more than two decades of experience as a chef in Europe and the U.S. and is particularly knowledgable about the cooking of Italy.
In New York, Sippel was chef de cuisine of the three-star restaurant Alto and sous chef of the three-star L’Impero, under chef Scott Conant. He also cooked at La Caravelle.
Earlier, Sippel served as chef de partie of the Carlton Tower in London. He has a master’s certificate in Italian Culinary Arts from the esteemed Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Asti, Italy, and a master’s certificate in French culinary arts under chef Paul Bocuse from L’Ecole des Arts Culinaries et de Hôtellerie in Lyon, France.
Italian Wine Merchants, Cannon explained, "do over $2 million a year in banquet sales, both on and off premise. They cater to the highest level of New York and international clientele. They have stores in New York and Hong Kong and do over $15 million in sales a year.
"Kevin," Cannon continued, "worked for me at L’Impero when we received three stars and Best New Restaurant in the U.S. and was the chef de cuisine at Alto under Michael White when we received three stars from the Times and two Michelin Stars.
"He in fact created the octopus-bone marrow dish that was made famous at Marea."
Sippel is 37.
Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen, being built inside the renovated 1917 Vail Mansion, will feature modern American and Italian cuisine.
It will consist of…
–the Oyster and Wine Bar on the ground floor, with a casual, contemporary menu, no reservations required
–the Vail Bar, a glam 1920’s-style cocktail lounge
–the Rathskeller, a private event space
–and the Dining Room at Jockey Hollow, a fine-dining resturant on the mansion’s second floor.
Cannon has formed a partnership with Mendham-based Ralston Farm to provide Jockey Hollow with produce. Ralston, a diverse three-acre farm, grows mostly heirloom vegetables and raises ducks, egg-laying hens and pigs. Cannon has also invested in Matt Gregg’s Forty North Oyster Farm in Barnegat Bay. Jockey Hollow’s house beer is being brewed for Cannon by Ramstein Brewery in Butler.
Jockey Hollow, Cannon said, will become "a center for wellness" in the New Jersey public schools. The goal will be to encourage children to adopt healthy eating habits, become more aware of the fragility of our environment and incorporate physical fitness into their young lives.