Jeni's Table with Jason Montigel of Clean Slate Eatery
Jason Montigel is the creative mind and brilliant chef behind Clean Slate Eatery and La Tacodilla in West Dennis. Clean Slate Eatery opened its doors eight years ago, with a four-year hiatus due to COVID. During those four years, Jason switched from fine dining to tacos, which brought about La Tacodilla. When asked how he pivoted so substantially (and successfully), he said he had just returned home from California, where he had been eating the best tacos he had ever had and had a feeling that COVID wasn’t going to be a “five minute thing”. Given the small size of the restaurant, there was no way to social distance, so he thought, “Let’s do tacos!”. And he did… and still does. In 2023, Jason began thinking about trying to reopen Clean Slate, but after the hiatus he knew he didn’t want to do it alone. He found someone he really wanted to work with in Amanda Kotz. A young upcoming chef originally from the Netherlands, Kotz has been a regular on Cape Cod for many years. Jason believes heavily in teaching and mentoring, and the key factor is that they both learn and get inspired by each other.
This past April, Jason reopened Clean Slate Eatery, a fine dining experience, with one seating at 6:30pm each night. The menu is a set tasting experience and can be combined with wine pairings. It’s a fun collaboration between Jason and Amanda. Jason says, “Every dish is a bit of each of us. It’s amazing to work with someone as talented as Amanda.”
Jason loves the juxtaposition of being able to serve a true comfort food to the masses with La Tacodilla Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and also creating an intimate fine dining space that provides people with a unique culinary experience. Clean Slate serves dinner every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Jason says “Food should evoke memories and create desires. It should be fun! Essentially, here at Clean Slate, because of the intimacy of the space, we’re basically throwing a dinner party every night.”
Jeni Wheeler is the Director, Co-Founder, and Creative Mind behind the Family Table Collaborative in South Yarmouth, as well as the Owner of Jeni’s Joy, a boutique catering/private chef company that addresses allergens and food sensitivities. She is passionate about providing nutritious, delicious meals to anyone who needs a “little extra love”, while working to improve the way society addresses nutritional security, through innovation and creative partnerships that reduce waste and increase sustainability. Jeni has her MBA, with a focus in Social Entrepreneurship, from Babson. familytablecollaborative.org
Clean Slate Eatery
702 Main Street (Route 28), West Dennis
Family Table Collaborative
1338 Main Street (Route 28), South Yarmouth
