Fort Wayne – Chef Johnny Bojinoff believes his passion for cooking started in his mid-20s after spending years around others who truly loved to cook.

“My inspiration came from (the late) Grandma Willamae Hendrix. On Saturdays she’d say, ‘Go in and watch cartoons,’ and the next thing it was greens, corn bread, braised chicken and cabbage,” he says.

While attending Northrop High School, Bojinoff took Foods One through Four. Later he joined the Navy and did some cooking in the service.

As the years passed, Bojinoff, who is single and has two children ages 4 and 11, cooked at various restaurants. Then he moved to Portland, Ore., and lived there from 2002 to 2004 while he attended the Western Culinary Institute of Cordon Bleu.

For more than six months, Bojinoff has been the head chef at Old Crown Coffee Roasters, 3417 N. Anthony Blvd. He has known one of the business’s owners since junior high.

“I met Michael (Woodruff) in seventh grade. He stole my first girlfriend,” Bojinoff says.

One accomplishment Bojinoff is proud of is that he does a variety of items.

“I’ve done 580 items, no duplications,” he says. “My specialty is Cast Iron Chicken, half of a fresh chicken. The preparation of that changes weekly. What customers like about this place is that they don’t know what’s on the menu. It’s always a surprise.”

Besides using vegetables from the 40-by-100-foot garden behind the restaurant, Bojinoff is incorporating many local products in his dishes, too.

“We have a good European butter that I serve in a ramekin with fresh maple syrup from Huntington. We got a guy from Decatur with mushrooms,” he says.

Of all the cooking equipment he uses on a daily basis, Bojinoff prefers 15 cast iron skillets he received from his late grandparents.

“I’m cooking in my grandfather’s and grandmother’s cast iron. It’s awesome. Sometimes if I start burning something, I start talking to (the skillets). Sometimes they talk to me,” he says. “I had one that I dropped and the handle broke off. I kept it.”

Q. What are some of your hobbies?

A. Just playing with the kids. Studying cooking techniques. Writing out recipes. Listening to a lot of music. I’m trying to challenge myself with the “no duplication” thing.

Q. Does your mind ever rest?

A. (laughs and shakes his head) One of my first chef instructors said it becomes an obsession.

Q. If you were stuck on a deserted island, what’s one food you would have to have?

A. Good old-fashioned spaghetti and meatball. I should say like Michael on death row said in “The Green Mile,” “Buttermilk chicken with mashed taters,” but I’d have to go with a porterhouse steak

Q. Who’s your cooking idol?

A. It’d have to be my grandmother Willamae Hendrix. I mean she had that one speed that she was doing 12 different things. I’d say Chris Bojinoff, too. That was my (late) grandfather. He used to take us to Coney Island. He ran the Church of God camp in Payne, Ohio. I’d hand out in the cafeteria with him.

Q. How would you describe your cooking style?

A. Contemporary West Coast. Take comfort food and put lipstick on it and high heels. That sums it up.

Mad Anthony Gabby Blonde Ale and Cheese Soup

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, no substitutes

1/2 cup finely diced carrot

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/2 teaspoon finely diced onion

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

3 cups grated sharp white cheddar or havarti cheese

1 (12-ounce) bottle Mad Anthony Gabby Blonde Ale beer

Kosher salt, to taste

White pepper, to taste

Melt butter over medium low heat and sweat vegetables over medium heat until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour to make a roux and then add mustard and cook mixture until it begins to lightly brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pot from stove. Add chicken stock while whisking. Using a hand blender or table top blender, add cheeses and whiz until completely uniform and mixed. Place pot back on stove and add beer; simmer on low (do not boil) for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

Cast Iron Wild Sockeye Salmon with Sweet Asian Chili Vinaigrette and Wasabi Cream

Asian Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)

4 teaspoons sambal oleek (Southeast Asian chili sauce)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

Wasabi Cream:

4 teaspoons wasabi powder

3 tablespoons cold water

1/2 cup sour cream

Salmon:

2 pounds fresh water fish steak (cod loin, halibut, wild sockeye salmon), 1 1/2 -inches thick, skinned, boned and cut into 4 pieces

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Fine sea salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make vinaigrette: Blend ingredients in a blender until smooth. Season with fine sea salt to taste.

To make cream: Whisk together wasabi powder and water until smooth; whisk in sour cream. Season with salt to taste.

To make fish: Lightly oil a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until it begins to smoke – about 10 minutes – controlling heat. Pat fish dry and season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Sprinkle one side of each piece with parsley. Add more oil to cast iron, then fish, parsley sides up; sear fish until undersides are browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn fish over and put skillet in middle of oven. Roast until cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve fish, parsley sides up over a spoonful or two of each sauce. Makes 4 servings.

The (Real) Melting Old Crown Chocolate Cakes

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

3/4 cup unsalted butter (no substitutes)

3 whole extra large eggs

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup granulated fine sugar

3 tablespoons Old Crown House or 9th degree coffee, dark beer or water

1/2 cup cake flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

Spray cooking oil or butter at room temperature

Heat oven to 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave for 30-second intervals until smooth and warm. Whisk together eggs and sugar in a separate mixing bowl. Add tempered warm chocolate butter mixture to eggs and sugar; add coffee, beer or water and mix. Slowly whisk in cake flour. Spray five crème brulee ramekins or bake ware soup cups. Dust with cocoa powdered. Fill individually and shake until even and set. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 5 servings.