Taste of the NFL | Local Chef Reps San Diego at Super Bowl 47

January 15, 2013

One of San Diego's favorite chefs is hitting the road - Super Bowl bound! This year's Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans will be host to "Taste of NFL"'s 22nd annual fundraiser on February 2nd, aptly named The Party with a Purpose, and Executive Chef Jonathan Hale of The Prado Restaurant was selected as the sole representative of San Diego and the Chargers. The event is an annual strolling wine and food experience that takes place in the host city of the Super Bowl each season to raise awareness and support fundraising efforts that target hunger issues throughout the country.

Rallying the country's top chefs and the NFL's greatest since 1992, "Taste of NFL" is held on the eve of the championship game and lines up cooking pairs to create unique food stations where guests can sample fine cuisine and meet and mingle with the nation's most acclaimed chefs and football icons.

Chef Hale will team up with former Chargers tight end and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Kellen Winslow Sr., and will whip up a decadent cream cheese flan push pop with almond shortbread paired with LaMarca Prosseco. The prestigious event is a culmination of a year-long fundraising effort in the fight against hunger, and net proceeds benefit local Feeding America-affiliated organizations in each NFL city, including the San Diego Food Bank.

Chef Jonathan Hale

In honor of Chef Jonathan Hale's journey to the Super Bowl, the Prado is organizing a delicious way to support the national fundraising initiative here in San Diego. Beginning Saturday January 19th through February 10th, guests can enjoy a limited-edition "Taste of the NFL" 3-Course Menu with proceeds benefiting the San Diego Food Bank. $1 per dish will go to the organization---every $1 generates 6 meals for the hungry. That's 18 meals donated per diner! The menu features Hale's signature dishes such as the farmer's mix salad, beer braised beef short rib risotto and chocolate-hazelnut mousse bar.  The full menu is available below and costs $32.95 per person. For more information or reservations, please call 619-557-9441 or visit www.pradobalboa.com.


Chef Jonathan Hale knew at an early age that he would one day become a chef. He had always enjoyed tasting different types and textures of food from all over the globe, which is most likely the result of Jonathan’s varying regional background. He was born in India, raised in London, and finished high school in New York. Jonathan’s first job in the restaurant industry began at the age of 17 as a waiter in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Jonathan’s ambition led him to the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where he graduated in 1991.

He then began moving further westward and landed a position as Chef Tournant at the Renaissance Restaurant in Aspen, Colorado. He remained there for over 2 years and then decided to relocate to Hawaii where he could work with the freshest seafood possible. He started as a line cook at the famed Pacific Café with Jean-Marie Josselin in Maui and Kauai and was soon promoted to Executive Chef. After 7 years in Hawaii, Chef Hale moved to San Diego in 2001 and took over the helm as Executive Chef at the first seafood restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter- Blue Point Coastal Cuisine. Hale and his team created a first class menu, earning awards from the Gaslamp Quarter Association such as Favorite Place to Dine, Best Seafood, Favorite Wine List, Best Customer Service, and Best Downtown Restaurant from SD Home & Garden Magazine.

In early 2010, Cohn Restaurant Group was very pleased to announce that Chef Jonathan Hale was appointed as the new Executive Chef of CRG’s award winning restaurant, The Prado at Balboa Park. Chef Hale’s favorite thing about his job, besides working with his culinary team, is “being able to create a dish, market it, execute it, and do it all over again the next day. It just doesn’t get old.” Jonathan’s experience and unique style have quickly distinguished him as a leader and an innovator for the Cohn Restaurant Group.