Born and raised in Barnegat, NJ, J. Geoff Johnson learned the love of cooking traditional northern and southern Italian cuisine from his mother and grandmother. His lineage is an interesting mix of German, Italian, Brazilian and Cherokee Indian. His food combinations are as interesting as his background. Raised in Southern Jersey, J. Geoff Johnson grew up in the heart of the North Atlantic coastal country. The incomparable coastal style cuisine became a part of Johnson’s cooking repertoire. He has spent more than 16 years in the restaurant industry developing new concepts. His professional culinary experience and extensive knowledge of Southern Jersey’s restaurant scene, has Johnson in the forefront of ongoing development and execution of Cape May’s newest restaurant the Copper Fish which specializes in contemporary coastal cuisine.

Throughout his career, he has worked for six restaurants and has helped develop restaurant concepts, design and menu planning, train staff and balanced all kitchen functions. He furthered his career in 2006 as Executive Chef for the Moonfish Grill in Cape May, NJ wear he earned the restaurant a 4* distinction from AC Press.

By 2007 Johnson was invited to be the Executive Chef of the Copper Fish Restaurant in Cape May, NJ. Johnson is currently the owner of the Copper Fish Restaurant where he enjoys coming up with progressive culinary techniques to create a balance of exploratory, yet approachable dishes. Johnson’s goal is to provide Copper Fish guests unique and modern culinary experiences grounded in the context of traditional flavors.

In addition to his professional experience, Johnson’s education has been primarily self taught working through the racks giving him a well rounded understanding of the industry. He is proud of, but also owes much of his knowledge to Culinary Education Center, the Academy of Culinary Arts and many of the chefs that he worked under.

Currently Johnson resides in Barnegat, NJ where he enjoys the company of his wife and two little girls.