Growing up in Austin, Texas, Executive Chef John A. Baez from Tommy Bahama of Las Vegas had quite a few early childhood memories where lakes and rivers were quite plentiful.  “I remember going swimming at some of the local river holes as a kid and being terrified of the aquatic life present. I recall being afraid to initially dive in as …

A native of Southern California, Chef Jeremy Tummel grew up fishing since he was just a young boy.  “I’ve been fishing my entire life, it’s my favorite hobby and one that I am pretty good at!  I have realized that it’s the little things that make for great memories though, scouring the tide pools for periwinkles, gooseneck barnacles, seaweeds and …

Jeffrey Strauss, the executive chef and owner of Pamplemousse Grille in Solana Beach brings a life-long appreciation of seafood into his kitchen. “When I was young I would head out to Fire Island with friends and using a rake, dig for clams. Cooking them on the beach is one of my favorite childhood memories. When I was a kid I would always order …

From the new ceviche bar at Border Grill in The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas to the signature Pescado Veracruzano at the iconic location in Santa Monica, you can tell just by looking at the menus that Chef Susan Feniger has a thing for seafood. We weren’t surprised to learn Chef Feniger’s appreciation for fresh seafood started in …

Executive Chef of Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Chef Pierre Albaladejo has long felt a connection not just to food, but to the food the ocean provides us. A native of Dax, a village in Southwestern France, he spent his childhood vacations in coastal Charente-Maritime, where his uncle had an old style pastry shop and his aunt’s family was in the …

We’re switching things up a little this month and featuring a customer who is not a chef – well, not technically at least, but Nick Frazier would be the first to tell you that it’s cooking, and good cooking, that drives him (at work and at home). As the third generation owner of Frazier Farms Markets, Nick lets the pursuit …

When we asked Executive Chef John Medall (of The Patio on Lamont and The Patio on Goldfinch) to talk to us about some of his favorite seafood dishes, he went straight for the Spanish Octopus with Gigante Bean Ragout. “I love cooking with items that some see as unappealing,” he told us. The menus at both the Patio on Lamont …

Executive Chef Peter Edwards’ lifelong appreciation of seafood began early. Growing up in Australia, he spent a lot of time fishing – off reefs and boats, beach fishing and crabbing. “I remember my dad using a screwdriver to pry open an oyster off one of the beaches when we lived in Sydney and saying, ‘now just swallow it whole and …

Chef Walter Mayen knows first hand what it means to “work your way up”. 13 years ago he started as a cook at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills and is still there today – although he’s climbed the kitchen ladder about as far as it goes. Growing up in the kitchen, trailing his mother around until she thought he was …

Chef Warren Cordoba spent much of his youth roaming his grandfather’s farm in the heart of coffee country, San Luis St. Domingo Heredia, Costa Rica.  It’s no wonder that he brings a sense of adventure tempered by a bit of nostalgia to his current menu at the Six Seven Restaurant at The Edgewater Hotel in Seattle. “When I was growing …