Executive chef

CHRIS MASSAD

Chef Chris Massad is the Executive Chef at Kampai and a lifelong student of Japanese cuisine and hospitality. At Kampai, his philosophy is simple: don't complicate what doesn't need to be complicated. Source the finest ingredients and get out of their way. That means uni shipped from Santa Barbara in ocean water, caviar-topped tuna, and Champagne peppercorns sourced from Cambodia — crushed to order with the back of a knife. He still calls fish markets in Japan regularly to track what's fresh and in season, sourcing fish within 48 hours of the sea.

His connection to Japanese cuisine began early, growing up in Tokyo before returning to study at Kyoto's Taiwa Gakuen and train at Tankuma Kitamise, a century-old kaiseki restaurant. He has worked with some of the finest restaurants, including Ginza's Sushi Tokami under one of Japan's most celebrated sushi chefs, Nobu Vail, Pabu, and Akikos in San Francisco, where he served as Executive Chef.

If you find yourself sitting at the sushi bar, pay close attention to the ingredients Chris intentionally pairs, and watch him come alive as each guest discovers just how extraordinary fresh, premium fish can be, let alone in the mountains of Wyoming. The simplicity and detail is the point.

Beverage Director

RIVER KARLINSKI

River Karlinski is the Beverage Director at Kampai Jackson Hole. His passion for cocktail crafting was honed through years of bartending across some of Jackson's most respected programs, including the Four Seasons and Glorietta.

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At Kampai, River leads a program built on collaboration where every bartender rotates through the rooftop's weekly Bartender's Choice, each owning a week of the menu and pushing the program forward. The result is a cocktail list rooted in Japanese philosophy: seasonal, intentional, and ingredient-forward, bringing Japanese whisky, sake, and Asian botanicals into the mountains of Wyoming with a distinctly local point of view. He starts with ingredients and works backward considering what's ripe, what pairs with the menu, what belongs in the glass.

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A collaborative spirit extends beyond the bar team and into partnerships with local brands like Wild Common, Wyoming Whiskey, Lagrimas del Valle, and Stillworks, as well as a  Midnight Lunch cocktail-meets-fashion series, reflecting a bar program that treats craft as a truly creative platform.

WINE & SAKE DIRECTOR

TIM SWARTZ

Tim Swartz is the Sake and Wine Director at Kampai Jackson Hole, curating what is widely considered the most expansive sake list in the valley. With nearly the entire sake selection available by the glass, his approach to curation starts with the food: well-rounded pours that complement rather than compete with Chef Chris's menu. Tim sources through a number of purveyors to maintain variety while keeping the list accessible. The wine program follows suit, with a thoughtfully curated selection that skews white and food-forward, built to complement the menu as much as the sake list does.

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What sets Tim apart is his ability to help guests discover what they truly enjoy. Sake and wine produce an extraordinary spectrum of flavor, and Tim ushers guests through tastings nightly, treating every visit as a chance to open that world a little wider.

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Tim holds an Introductory Sake Sommelier certification from the Sake Sommelier Academy and is a Certified Sake Professional through the Sake Education Council.

GENERAL MANAGER

DAN JANJIGIAN

Dan “Jiggy” Janjigian’s career spans all aspects of the food and beverage industry, beginning his career as a bartender at Teton Village’s Mangy Moose Saloon, to a decade of creating and producing food for weddings, large-scale and intimate events in Jackson. His career-long dedication to hospitality in many forms and his love of Japanese cuisine prepared him for opening Kampai with Chef Chris. Jiggy can be found overseeing all aspects of Kampai, from greeting guests nightly to curating the restaurant’s unique wine and sake offerings.

OPERATIONS MANAGER

CATALINA LUCA

Cat Luca is the Operations Manager at Kampai Jackson Hole. Growing up in Romania, where welcoming a guest into your home is a cultural value as much as a courtesy, Cat found a natural kindred spirit in the Japanese concept of omotenashi, the art of anticipatory, whole-hearted hospitality. For Cat, there's a clear distinction: service is transactional. Hospitality is personal.
 

Her team tracks guest preferences down to the finest detail from their preferred glassware or garnish, to the cold smoke they order every time, so that the moment a regular sits down, they already feel known. That culture of attentiveness is what turns first-time visitors into standing reservations and regulars into family. “When you walk into Kampai, you're not just a reservation. You're someone we already know, or someone we're about to.”