Jonnie trained in his native Ireland before embarking on a culinary journey that saw him working, in his early years, for one of his heroes, Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, and at the famous Dublin institution, The Shelbourne Hotel, before arriving in Portugal for the first time at Le Meridien Penina. Following spells with the prestigious Norwegian Cruise Line and as Executive Chef at the five-star Safir Deira Hotel in Dubai, he returned to Ireland as Executive Chef at the Marriott Druids Glen, where he won the award for Irish Hotel Restaurant of the Year, cooked at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York, and won an award for culinary excellence from Marriott International. He then moved back to Portugal to the Marriott Praia D'El Rey in Obidos as Executive Chef, and oversaw the opening of the Vilamoura Hilton, Hilton's first five-star hotel in Portugal, before achieving a long-held ambition to own his own restaurant, Bistro des Z'Artes, which he opened in late 2008.