james beard house

Special Contribution to 30a Food & Wine

January 5, 2018 ~ Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Local Chef and Restaurateur Invited to NYC to Prepare Prestigious Dinner

After developing restaurants in Pensacola, Shirley’s home base has become the renowned New Urbanist community of Seaside, Florida. Co-Founder Robert Davis recruited Shirley to develop a renewed farm-to-table focus that has revolutionized the regional restaurant scene just as Davis and his architects turned traditional development on its head.

Now, local favorite Chef Jim Shirley, heads to New York City this month to prepare a Taste of Seaside Florida at the James Beard House. His fifth time invited to be a guest chef, Shirley is honored to bring his team, represent the Merchants of Seaside, and highlight the culinary strengths of the Emerald Coast.

“I’m excited for an opportunity to represent Seaside and Walton County in New York City,” says Chef Shirley. “It’s a privilege to be asked back to cook there again. I think our menu is a exciting representation of Northwest Florida.”

During the seated, five course meal entitled with wine pairings for each course, guests will also have the unique opportunity to meet Chef Shirley and his team and ask questions about the dishes they have eaten. The menu is reflective of North Florida attitude, culinary innovation, and an agricultural edge which includes dishes from smoked snapper throat gougères to a Walton pecan baklava.

The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America’s food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone. The Foundation also maintains the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. Guest chefs are selected through the Foundation’s director of house programming who actively seeks noteworthy talent as evidenced by national or regional reputation, use of high quality, seasonal, and/or local ingredients, and other various sources.

The dinner will be held Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 7:00 PM at The Beard House.

Member Price: $135 and Public Price: $175. All events are held at the James Beard House, located at 167 West 12th Street in New York City, unless otherwise stated. Reservations are accepted Monday through Friday between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. by calling 212.627.2308 or by going to www.jamesbeard.org/events/taste-of-seaside-florida to book online.

About James Beard Foundation

The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America’s food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone. The Foundation also maintains the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs.

About Chef Jim Shirley

Nationally recognized restaurateur Chef Jim Shirley is owner of the Great Southern Café, 45 Central, and The Meltdown on 30A in Seaside, Florida, The Bay in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and Baytowne Provisions in Destin, Florida. He is also the co-owner of Great Southern Restaurants, which owns The Fish House, The Atlas Oyster House, and The Fish House Deck Bar in Pensacola, Florida.

Chef Jim uses Southern accents with great skill and spirit, traveling far afield to graze and glean, absorb culinary ideas, select fine wines, and look for pockets of sustainable farming practices. As a Pensacola native, Chef Jim uses his knowledge of local waters and his families’ farming histories to promote “New Ruralism,” a movement to champion sustainable agriculture at the urban edge.