It would be hard to overstate Jonathon Sawyer’s impact on the Cleveland dining scene. He’s considered one of the founding fathers of the city’s culinary renaissance. And he continues to bring national recognition to Cleveland with his Iron Chef battles and awards from Bon Appétit and Food and Wine magazines.

For local diners, Sawyer has brought not only new restaurants, but new dishes. Pizza with eggs and pancetta, frites with gravy, and a steam bun with peanut butter and bananas are just a few examples of the creations that have started a virtual food cult craze.

At home, Sawyer and his wife Amelia are bringing up two young children — Catcher, 6, and Louisiana, 4 — so they tend to keep meals simple. Which is why Sawyer chose a macaroni and cheese recipe to share.

Needless to say, this is no ordinary macaroni and cheese. The inception of the recipe lies in a cultural belief shared by Amelia and Jonathan, who puts it this way: “It is essential that this world is left a better place for our children than it was left for us.” That means a commitment to eating healthy, eating local, and as much as possible, removing processed foods from the family diet. The children are encouraged to work in the garden and pick their favorite vegetables.

Sawyer’s homemade macaroni and cheese is a family favorite, one of many healthy meals prepared from scratch. He and his wife are in the process of compiling that and other recipes for family meals they’ve created for a book that will be titled “Scratch and Bones.”

The Sawyer family makes eating healthy at home an art form, and this cheesy creation will not disappoint.

This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2013.

Jason Beudert has had a dynamic career as a leader with The Walt Disney Company, ESPNZone, The Cleveland Indians, and as a restaurant entrepreneur. He is utilizing his twenty years of hospitality experience along with his love for the Cleveland food scene to contribute exciting and insightful food pieces for Scene. Along with being one of our food writers, Jason is also the food critic for WOIO 19 Action News, and makes a weekly appearance on Q104's Fee's Kompany radio show to promote food and the Scene. Jason is also a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure Magazine.

5 replies on “Greenhouse Tavern’s Jonathon Sawyer Shares His Special Macaroni and Cheese Recipe”

  1. What do we do with the cup of cheddar? I read the instructions twice, I might have missed it.

  3. First comment is correct– I read the recipe several times and you never indicate where the cheddar goes in. please try again. Thanks

  4. Sawyer invented pizza with eggs and bacon and “frites with gravy?” LOL. Have you ever heard of poutine? It is ubiquitous in Canada.

  5. I made this using 4 T butter and adding the cheddar along with the ricotta. It was good but needed some salt and pepper added with the flour. A healthy dose of Sriracha didn’t hurt either.

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