What were your favorite foods growing up?
I would have to say homemade chicken soup and anything from our small garden in the summertime...like raw peas in the pod (I used to eat them right off the plant) or fresh lettuce!

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I had one older sister and three younger brothers, so growing up, you had to move fast at our dinner table! I was always cooking for myself in some degree growing up and that's when the interest started. But when I spent my last summer on Nantucket -- that's when I started getting into it.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
As a dishwasher in a local restaurant in Ridgewood N.J. I had this job after school a few nights a week. That's where I started to enjoy the kitchen life, the action and the pace. I started to get serious in College while in Savannah, Georgia; it was so cool to learn about Southern food and low country cuisine. So that's when I really began to see the possibilities and vast scope cooking professionally had.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
I would be an artist, which I am, so I do both. I couldn't do one without the other. But my dream job would be a Pro Skateboarder...I was good at one point and I still make my own skateboards in my spare time.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Me...not that I'm so great -- it's just I was always self motivated and pushed myself to learn through trial and error. Plus, I read a lot of cookbooks; older cookbooks are especially fun to read. Most of my learning has been on the job and that's the best way to learn.

How would you describe your cuisine?
New American. I try to stay true to American ingredients and keep my style bold without being too flashy. Modern technique is there, I just don't scream about it. I always think about flavor and product I grew up around. So I spent a lot of time on the East coast from Maine to New England, then to the South, so I try to bring those experiences to the table. (My Lobster Roll rules!)

How did the culinary arts in Savannah compare to that of the East Coast?
At the time, the culinary scene downtown was very quaint. Traditional southern cooking is what I was into. But there were a lot of tourist spots to avoid. It was such a small, tight city -- the complete opposite of New York. New York was a totally different level in every way when I returned. But I learn from wherever I go.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
My purveyors and the seasons. I enjoy the changes and challenges the different months bring me. So my style is seasonal and approachable; I try not to be trendy or sound too over the top.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Smoking Gun, iPhone and my Kuntz spoon!

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Different salts and unusual spice combinations like hibiscus and honey granules with duck, for one.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
To start to think like the customer, consistency and to work hard.

What qualities do you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
I want a hungry cook -- hungry for work, knowledge and pushing it to the limit. I want cooks who develop the traits needed to deal with the pace, stress and hours.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Grilled fish, vegetable tasting or salads. Just avoid the sugary stuff and butter sauces, keep it simple -- grilled fish, olive oil, fresh herbs and lemon.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Anything in pastry, I hate to measure and follow specific steps and love the freedom cooking offers. Everyone has different taste buds, likes and dislikes. If you like it, then it's good!

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
Losing staff right before the busiest time of the year and rebuilding from nothing in a matter of days. And any time you have to deal with a kitchen fire in the middle of service.

What is your least favorite food?
Chinese take out...way too greasy, and terrible for you.

What is your beverage of choice?
Green Tea, Pacifico and Pellegrino.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
Less and less people are cooking at home (which is good for me!) and people are more educated in food, so they are more demanding. Food as performance art and trickery; we don't have to eat like we are on a space mission. An overall trend of people demanding healthy, fresh product on a daily basis is good for everyone.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
At home with my wife and kids. I cook outside as often as the weather permits -- seafood, BBQ and anything off the grill.

Which foreign country inspires your style most? Italy -- the food, the land, the people.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had? My four-year-old daughter, Summer, made me a cupcake -- nothing can beat that. Well maybe the geoduck clam Peruvian style at La Bernardin and the caramel covered cod I had at Atlas years ago.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast? Figure out what you like; if it's fish then learn how to properly cook a piece of fish and then build from there. The Internet has changed everything with the amount of knowledge available. You tube.

What do you eat when you are home?
I eat seasonally -- braised items, roasts and soups in the winter, lots of seafood and grilled items in the summer. Keep it market fresh, keep it simple and don't overwork items.