PRAY, Montana (November 1, 2021) – Sage Lodge, an outdoors-focused Montana resort located 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park and managed by Columbia Hospitality, is excited to announce the selection of Ben Jones as its new executive chef. The lodge, which opened in 2018 and has a long-standing partnership with Sage Fly Fishing, continues to solidify its reputation as one of the state’s premier lodging properties, ranking in the top one percent in the world in Tripadvisor’s “2021 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best” awards.

In his new role, Jones will create and implement the culinary vision for the property, which includes the on-site restaurants The Grill at Sage Lodge and the Fireside Room, as well as meetings and events.

“I am very impressed by and excited to work with the team here in the breathtaking Paradise Valley,” said Jones. “I look forward to developing a culture of team and guest focus that is above any other, and I can’t wait to further enhance and expand our cuisine offerings and make this the premier culinary workplace in Montana.”

Jones’ experiences span more than 20 years. He started his career as chef de cuisine at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago and worked his way up to becoming the executive chef at both The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana and more recently at Alderbrook Resort and Spa in Union, Washington. In these roles, Jones gained extensive experience with regional culinary operations, including bolstering culinary events and programming, controlling budgets and creating systems to maintain staff retention and guest satisfaction.

Jones has also participated in key events, including as guest chef for the 2016 James Beard House event; published recipes in the Smoke and Fire cookbook; and hosted the James Beard Boot Camp on sustainability and food waste. He is also the founder of and chef at Open Hearth Private Chef and Catering LLC, a private-chef and custom-catering company, alongside his wife and partner, Michelle Byerly.

In his new role as executive chef, Jones looks forward to developing and mentoring his team, being creative with food preservation, sourcing and highlighting local ingredients year-round, bolstering The Grill’s dry-age room program, developing culinary event programming and maintaining the consistency and quality of the culinary offerings at the property.

Jones is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has a degree in culinary arts from Nelson Polytechnic in Nelson, New Zealand. In his free time, he keeps himself busy with an assortment of activities, including volunteering at food banks, splitting firewood, weightlifting, reading, writing poetry, studying wine, cheesemaking, making charcuterie, and horseback and bike riding with his wife and three children.