Jonathan M. Cartwright has been at the White Barn Inn Restaurant since 1994. He began as a Sous Chef and became Executive Chef in 1996. His talents were quickly recognized, and in the spring of 1999, Cartwright was invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York City, an honor accorded only to the country’s greatest chefs. The White Barn Inn Restaurant has had its share of honors, too, receiving hospitality’s highest accolade, a 5-Star rating from Forbes, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, consecutively from 2006-2010, and AAA’s Five Diamond Award consecutively since 1992 — a record in New England. The restaurant is one of only 12 in the U.S. to share both top honors at once, and one of only 20 Grand Chefs of Relais & Chateaux in the U.S.

Cartwright’s achievements at the White Barn Inn Restaurant have attracted abundant critical acclaim in the travel and culinary media. It was one of the top three U.S. hotel restaurants on Condé Nast Traveler’s "Gold List" in 2005; one of Food & Wine’s 50 Best Hotel Restaurants in 2001, 2002 and 2003; a Phantom Gourmet selection as Best New England Inn Restaurant in 2002; an Ivy Award winner from Restaurants & Institutions in May 2004; one of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Hotel Restaurants in 2003; and a DiRoNA award winner from Distinguished Restaurants of North America from 1992-2002.

Originally from Yorkshire, England, Cartwright has been at home in the kitchen since age 15. He brings to New England an international sensibility and mastery of cuisine gained while serving some of the world’s finest Relais & Chateaux properties including Blantyre in Lenox, Mass., the Horned Dorset Primavera in Puerto Rico, and the Hotel Bareiss in the Black Forest region of Germany. "I believe that my menu creations are influenced by a love of European-style cooking acquired from my experiences," says Cartwright. "This is fused with the many culinary and cultural inspirations of my present home, coastal Maine"

As Executive Chef, Cartwright oversees all food and beverage operations of the restaurant and the Inn’s Wine Room, including daily menu planning, food purchasing and supervision of a 25-person kitchen staff.

In addition to his responsibilities as Executive Chef, Cartwright is Chief Operating Officer of US Hotels New England, part of the family-owned business that owns the White Barn Inn and a collection of six further hospitality properties in New England, the most recent acquisition being the Windham Hill Inn in West Townshend, Vermont.

Before joining the White Barn Inn, Cartwright was Executive Chef of the Relais & Chateaux Horned Dorset Primavera in Puerto Rico. After his training apprenticeships, he continued to study under Anton Edelmann, Maitre Chef de Cuisine at The Savoy Hotel, London. In 1989, while still at the Savoy, he accompanied Edelmann to New York’s Pierre Hotel and to the Four Seasons, Beverly Hills to help with celebrations honoring the Savoy Hotel's 100th anniversary.