“I love the Alabama coast and fishing. It is why my family moved here from Birmingham in 2006. We opened Live Bait at the Wharf and a catering company and we catered to the new owner of the Flora-Bama. He loved what we did and asked me to open a restaurant on the vacant property across from the Flora-Bama. It worked and we have an eclectic menu with lobster corn dogs and Greek nachos.”

“I always thought I would play college football, but I had an injury that ended it all. I was also an Eagle Scout and loved to cook outdoors and was pretty good at it. I was depressed about not playing football and a friend suggested I go to culinary school. I won a scholarship in a cooking contest and went. Growing up in Eufala, I was a wild game hunter and ate weird things. I started a nonprofit called NUISANCE Group, Nuisance Underutilized Invasive Sustainable Available Noble Culinary Endeavors. A long name, but that is everything I care about. There is so much food that we waste and so many things we could be eating. I was asked to help with the lionfish invasion and we created dishes with them. I have a lot of ideas, but I am a 30-second increment person and live in 30-second blocks because anything can change in 30 seconds. A party today went from 200 to 300 people. Making plans is almost impossible.”

“My hobby is collecting coins and metal detecting and I look for Civil War relics on private property in Spanish Fort. We go deep into the woods late at night when it’s not so hot and it is the only time I can get away from work. We find tons of Confederate and Union bullets and buttons. We research the history and study maps, movement and where troops camped. We try to uncover the history before houses are built over it. I also go on the beach and find jewelry or help people with recovery efforts. Metal detecting is how I clear my mind.”

“What is the stress of running a restaurant?”

“We are at a 911 employment shortage in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The area is booming at the height of growth and it is hard to find, train and keep good employees. It is expensive to live here so a lot of people can’t afford to work here. Believe it or not, reality food shows also affect us. The customer is learning new things about food from the shows and that education is great because we get to serve more fun food items. They also become chefs in their own home and come in on a Saturday night requesting changes to a dish or a dish they saw on television. We serve 1,000-1,500 on a busy summer day and sometimes it gets so busy that it is almost impossible to keep up. It is as fast as you can apply heat to a product and get it out there and it takes a team of people in rhythm to make it happen. Creating a specialty dish or making major changes locks up the breaks in the kitchen and throws the whole thing off. Just this year, in my 24th year in this business, I am learning to say no. There is no time to create the beautiful plate seen on the Food Network, but our food is good and why people come back.”

“The industry is tough. The stress is unbelievable and I have seen great chefs crumble under it. There can be praise and accolades, but there is a lot of sacrifice and it can destroy families and relationships. It is why drug and alcohol abuse is widespread in this industry. I have stayed away from that, but I am 39 and go to a cardiologist because I have to keep an eye on my blood pressure. Imagine creating masterpieces that are destroyed or picked apart before your eyes. I also have to keep up with so much beyond managing employees and making food taste good. Profit margins are slim and food costs are constantly rising. The job is stressful, but we also get to be a part of people’s lives, their vacations and their celebrations. They save their money and look forward to coming to the Flora-Bama Yacht Club each year.”

“I will stay here forever and hopefully grow successful restaurants and retire from the Flora-Bama. We have four kids and when they are gone, I want to buy an RV and travel to campgrounds and cook for the people staying there. I want see the world with my wife and harvest my own lobster in Maine, hunt elk in Colorado, eat in Italy and France and cook in Sydney, Australia. I am competitive and always looking for the next challenge. I love being a culinary ambassador for the Coast and promoting our food, our chefs and the life we have here. This is where I want to be.”