If you ask chef Tim Jansen what to order at Chris’ at the Docket, he won’t hesitate: the breakfast fried rice. Smoky bacon fried rice topped with two eggs and finished with his house-made sweet chile sauce. The fried rice has become one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, and in a city with no shortage of opinions about fried rice, it just might be one of St. Louis’ best. It’s also the dish that best reflects Jansen’s journey, one shaped by a career that has spanned the country and the globe, influencing both the chef he became and the food he creates.
Jansen grew up in the one-stoplight town of Bellingham, Massachusetts, and each Sunday after Mass, his family would venture to a neighboring town to visit a small pastry shop for doughnuts. Around the age of 10, something sparked.
“I thought that it was the coolest thing in the world,” he recalled. “This is what I’m going to do.” It wasn’t long before he received his first Wilton pastry bag and decorating tips and started making birthday cakes for family and friends.
While his parents initially had reservations about a career in the kitchen (they’ve since become his biggest fans), he trusted his instincts and enrolled in culinary school. Jansen built his résumé in private clubs, luxury hotels and restaurants across Boston before opportunities and building the right connections carried him to Arizona, Washington, D.C., Florida and eventually St. Louis. Along the way, an afternoon wandering through Boston’s Chinatown sparked a lifelong curiosity and love of Asian cuisine. That curiosity led him to Singapore, Thailand and India, where he worked alongside local chefs and immersed himself in their kitchens, learning techniques and flavors firsthand. One of his favorite chapters came during his years splitting time between the island of Nantucket and Sarasota, Florida. Summers were spent cooking on Nantucket, where the restaurant staff lived together, close enough that at night you could hear the ocean. Winters took him back to a pastry shop in Sarasota, allowing him to deepen the baking skills he first discovered as a child.
Jansen has now called St. Louis home for more than 23 years. After serving as executive chef at the Renaissance Hotel downtown (now the Marriott St. Louis Grand), he partnered with Chris Saracino of Bartolino’s Hospitality Group to open Chris’ at the Docket. As chef and co-owner of the downtown breakfast and lunch staple, Jansen has spent a decade shaping the restaurant, blending his own culinary vision with the traditions of the Bartolino’s legacy. Now, he’s preparing for the Bartolino’s next chapter with another location opening in South County later this summer. Jansen has taken a hands-on approach to every aspect of the restaurant, from designing the kitchen and selecting equipment to crafting new items on the menu.
The new location will feature additions like a breakfast sandwich with house-made tomato jam, candied jalapeños, bacon and a hard egg, a reflection of Jansen’s signature balance of sweet, spicy and savory flavors with subtle Asian influences.
He’s also refining a French dip and perfecting a new Buffalo wrap, a process that started with 10 concepts and has been narrowed to just two finalists. It’s all driven by the same question: Can we make this better? Through data, trial and error, creativity and a willingness to keep refining, Jansen is always searching for ways to improve. That same mindset is rooted in a philosophy instilled in him early by his mentors: there are no shortcuts.
“I’m not a fan of shortcuts,” he said. “Everything’s got to be very precise, and if it’s not the way it should be, then don’t use it. Get rid of it.”
The same care Jansen puts into developing his food carries over to developing his team. Training is one of his greatest passions, and Jansen, who describes himself as naturally reserved, has cultivated a kitchen that operates, as he calls it, with the “quiet hum of business,” rather than the loud, high-pressure environment many may expect. Though he admits it’s a leadership style he had to grow into over time. Tuesdays are dedicated to teaching staff everything from baking focaccia and making bagels, house-made hamburger buns and biscuits to creating scratch-made sauces. He takes pride in watching employees with no culinary experience grow into skilled professionals, even helping some pursue culinary school and develop the confidence and skills to work independently without constant oversight.
The commitment to investing in others extends beyond the walls of the restaurant. This past year, he partnered with Peter & Paul Community Services to prepare 150 meals a day over several months for those affected by the May 16, 2025, tornado. For Jansen, giving back was never a question.
Forty years into his career, you can still find Jansen studying recipes from his worldwide cookbook collection, fascinated by learning something new and discovering how to incorporate those ideas into his own dishes. On weekends, he can be found exploring the St. Louis art scene or cooking lamb Bolognese at home. But his greatest motivation remains his family, who will join him at the new South County restaurant, making this next adventure a true family affair. Jansen approaches cooking with the same curiosity and excitement that started it all. In his own words, he still remains “absorbed by cooking:” always learning, always experimenting, and always finding joy in the craft.
Chris’ at the Docket, 100 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, chrispancakeanddining.com/docket/
Chris’ Pancake & Dining, 5980 Southwest Ave., St. Louis, chrispancakeanddining.com
Coming soon: 5262 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis
Offering food service design, equipment and supply to area restaurants and hotels, Ford Hotel Supply has been family-owned and -operated since 1911. Visit the showroom at 2204 N. Broadway in St. Louis or visit FordSTL.com.
This article appears in August 2026.