Chef Wayne Johnson (d. 2024) began his Seattle career working at high-end restaurants, including Ray’s Boathouse and Andaluca. In his spare time, he volunteered at FareStart, a culinary nonprofit organization that provides restaurant industry job training to people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and other disadvantages. FareStart gradually became his full-time job, and he rose through the ranks to become FareStart's executive chef, then vice president of culinary operations, then senior adviser for culinary and community engagement before retiring in 2023.

This 2007 photo shows Chef Wayne at home, enjoying one of his “guilty pleasures” – a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich “with the oozing peanut butter coming out the sides.”

Caption information source: “Off The Clock”, by Rebekah Denn, Hsiao-Ching Chou, and Kristin Dizon, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 2, 2007, p. 22.
Caption information source: “Beloved Seattle chef Wayne Johnson of FareStart dies at 66,” by Bethany Jean Clement, The Seattle Times, August 5, 2024, p. A9.