Running a windows batch command using chef blocks the chef provision

Running a windows batch command using chef blocks the chef provision

I'm using chef for windows and need to run a batch file that starts up the
selenium-server java service (java -jar seleniumserver.jar) as a daemon.
When I try to use a windows_batch resource, it causes chef to hang during
it's provisioning.
The problem is that the selenium server stays running in whatever command
line you start it in, but chef won't continue provisioning the machine
until the command is finished. The thing is, the command never finishes,
it's not supposed to.
Here's what I've tried so far:
Executing java -jar seleniumserver.jar & (with the windows_batch resource)
Using a template to create a batch file for the command, then using
windows_batch to execute file.bat Using windows_batch to execute the
batchfile with an & (file.bat &)
I'm open to any ideas, even if it's kind of hacky. Thanks in advance!