James Kenner was born in Winnemucca, Nevada, and moved to Hawthorne in 1983 when his family relocated to Mineral County. He attended Mineral County High School. In 1985, while in high school, he began working at the El Capitan as a dishwasher and later became a line cook there. He continued cooking at the El Capitan after high school until November 1993, when he began cooking at Maggie’s Restaurant. He was later recruited back to the El Capitan as executive chef, and after three years returned t ...