CHAPTER 1 — THE BIRTHPLACE OF EVERY BOARD
From Forest to Kitchen: The Chonky Wonky Wood Way

© ChonkyWonkyWood Ltd. All rights reserved.

If you stand quietly enough in a forest—really stand still, not the “I’m waiting for my mate to finish a wee behind a tree” kind of still, but the deep, patient, listening kind—you’ll hear something most people never notice.

Trees talk.Not in English, obviously. They’re not out there gossiping about the price of petrol or who’s snogging who behind the pub. But they murmur. They creak. They hum. They whisper in a language older than anything humans have ever carved into stone or scribbled onto paper.

And that…
that is where every Chonky Wonky Wood creation truly begins.Not in the workshop.
Not in the kitchen.
Not even in the heads of Jason and Jon, though that’s where the chaos usually begins.

It starts here.
In the forest.
Where the world is slow, ancient, and stubbornly beautiful.The Forest Isn’t Just a Place — It’s a Character
Jason and Jon always say the forest is the real craftsman.
They’re just the two blokes who help the wood fulfil its destiny.

And they’re right.Walk through any woodland in Suffolk—early morning, mist still clinging to the ground like a shy guest at a party—and you’ll feel it. The weight of time. The quiet pride. The sense that every tree has lived a life far more dramatic than anything humans get up to.

Some trees have survived storms that could flatten houses.
Some have grown twisted and wonky because a stubborn neighbour hogged the sunlight.
Some have scars from lightning strikes, animal claws, or the occasional drunk bloke who thought carving his initials into a trunk was romantic.

Every tree has a story.
And Chonky Wonky Wood is built on the belief that those stories matter.

How Chonky Wonky Wood Really Began — A Forest Rescue Mission
The forest’s influence on Chonky Wonky Wood isn’t just poetic.
It’s literal.

Back in 2024, a delivery of massive logs was dropped on Jason and Jon’s doorstep.
They were meant for burning.
Firewood.
Gone in a puff of smoke.

But Jason and Jon took one look at the timber and said, almost in unison:

“This is far too good to go up in flames.”

Jason, with over 30 years of professional chef experience, immediately saw chopping boards.
He saw food presentation, charcuterie spreads, steak slabs, and kitchen magic.

Jon, with his woodworking background, saw grain, potential, curves, and character.

And right there—on a driveway full of logs destined for destruction—the seed of Chonky Wonky Wood took root.They didn’t just save wood.
They saved stories.
They saved character.
They saved future kitchen heroes.

Big, Beautiful, Chonky, Wonky — The Philosophy Born in the Forest
Jason and Jon don’t chase perfection.
They embrace big and beautiful, celebrating the natural curves, quirks, and imperfections the forest provides.

A knot isn’t a flaw.
A curve isn’t a mistake.
A split isn’t a disaster.

It’s personality.
It’s history.
It’s nature showing off.

And that philosophy started long before the workshop existed.
It started here, in the forest, where no two trees grow the same way.

A Tree’s Life Is Not Boring
People think trees just stand there doing nothing.

Wrong.

Trees are busy.
Trees are dramatic.
Trees are basically the woodland version of soap opera characters.

Take the mighty oak, for example.
It spends decades building strength, spreading roots, forming grain patterns that look like nature’s fingerprint. It battles wind, rain, insects, fungi, and the occasional squirrel with a superiority complex.

Or the ash tree—flexible, elegant, always trying to look good even when the weather is having a tantrum.

Or the beech—smooth, pale, and classy, like the forest’s version of someone who moisturises twice a day.

Every species has personality.
Every trunk has attitude.
Every knot is a memory.Jason and Jon learned this early on.

Jason & Jon vs. The Forest (A Short Tale of Humility)
Before Chonky Wonky Wood became a proper business, Jon once declared:

“A tree is a tree. Wood is wood. How complicated can it be?”

The forest heard him.
The forest did not approve.

A week later, Jason and Jon were inspecting a batch of timber. Jon picked up a piece of oak, gave it a confident tap, and said:

“See? Solid. Predictable.”

The oak responded by splitting clean down the middle like it was demonstrating a magic trick.

Jason laughed so hard he nearly inhaled a wood shaving.
Jon stared at the timber like it had personally betrayed him.

They learned two things that day:

Trees have personalities.

Oak is petty.

Since then, both of them treat every piece of timber with the respect of men who know nature can and will embarrass them if they get cocky.

The Forest Floor: Where the Journey Truly Begins
Picture it:

A carpet of leaves.
The smell of damp earth.
Birdsong echoing through the canopy.
Sunlight flickering like candlelight through branches.

This is where the story of every Chonky Wonky board starts.

Not in a factory.
Not in a warehouse.
Not in a machine that spits out identical pieces of soulless wood.

Here.
In the wild.
Where wood grows with character, chaos, and charm.

Jason calls the forest floor a nursery.
Jon calls it “the biggest workshop in the world.”
Both are right.

Every fallen leaf, every patch of moss, every mushroom popping up like a nosy neighbour—it all feeds the soil.
The soil feeds the roots.
The roots feed the tree.
And the tree becomes the timber that becomes the board that becomes the kitchen hero.

It’s a cycle.
A story.
A journey.

And Chonky Wonky Wood is just one chapter in that journey.

Sustainability: The Forest’s Promise, Their Responsibility
From day one, Jason and Jon made sustainability the heart of their craft.

Every piece of timber they use is responsibly sourced from trees already marked for felling.
Not cut down for fun.
Not harvested for profit.
Not taken from healthy, thriving woodland giants.

These trees were already destined to fall.
To be burned.
To rot away.

Jason and Jon rescue a portion of that wood and give it a second life.

A longer life.
A meaningful life.
A life in someone’s kitchen.

They even plan to support long‑term woodland health through a dedicated tree‑planting scheme, restoring balance for future generations.

The forest gives.
They give back.The Forest Chooses Which Trees Become Boards
Not every tree is meant to become a chopping board.
Some trees are destined to stand tall for centuries.
Some become homes for owls.
Some become shade for hikers.
Some become firewood.
Some become furniture.

And some…
some become Chonky Wonky creations.

Jason and Jon don’t just pick trees at random.
They choose timber that has lived a full life, grown strong, and reached the point where it’s ready for transformation.

It’s not just about quality.
It’s about respect.

The forest gives.
The craftsmen receive.
And the kitchen celebrates.

The Emotional Bit (Don’t Worry, It’s Still Cheeky)
Jason will pick up a plank, run his hand along the grain, and say things like:

“This one’s got a story.”

Jon will pick up another and mutter:

“This one’s got potential.”

Both of them are sentimental, even if Jon pretends he’s not.

The forest gives them raw material.
They give the wood purpose.
And the kitchen gives it a home.

The Forest Is the First Craftsman
Before Jason and Jon sand.
Before they shape.
Before the oils bring out the glow.
Before the branding iron kisses the wood.
Before the board sits proudly on someone’s counter holding cheese, bread, or a pile of chopped onions…

The forest has already done the hardest work.

It grew the wood.
It shaped the grain.
It carved the character.
It created the story.

Jason and Jon simply reveal what the forest already made.

The Forest Teaches Patience
Trees don’t rush.
They don’t panic.
They don’t worry about deadlines or Etsy listings or whether someone remembered to order more sandpaper.

They grow slowly.
Steadily.
Deliberately.

And that patience becomes part of the craft.

Woodworking isn’t fast.
It isn’t instant.
It isn’t something you can rush without consequences.

The forest teaches the craftsmen to slow down.
To respect time.
To appreciate the process.

And that lesson becomes the foundation of every Chonky Wonky creation.

The Forest Is the First Chapter — But Not the Last
This chapter is about beginnings.
About roots.
About growth.
About the quiet dignity of nature.

But the journey doesn’t end here.

The forest is only the start.

Next comes the selection.
The harvesting.
The milling.
The moment the tree leaves its birthplace and begins its transformation.