"3030 Ocean was my brainchild from the start of 2000 and led to many years of great experiences with all the people here at this dinner. It was a perfect breading ground for creativity and excellence in product, as our sole focus was buying the best seafood, meats, and vegetables we could find and serving them in a simple and beautiful way. That philosophy was what I picked up from my amazing mentors and something I passed on to all the kids that followed me down that line. And when I say kids...I mean kids. Paula started with me at the age of 21 and sprouted over the years to her own stardom which launched with the excellent performance on Hells Kitchen and eventually many other restaurants. Adrienne applied right out of culinary school and worked her way up in the kitchen over many years. She moved on for a bit and then returned to take back over 3030 as chef de cuisine. Pushkar came to us on a student visa from India and then moved to my Cayman restaurant and finally opened my namesake James Republic in California. Niven as started as a early 20's kid and worked many years in 3030 before opening my restaurant in Baltimore, Cheeca lodge and Cayman as well. Huma opened 3030 Ocean with me as a cook and I moved her to do our pastries and she has been there ever since. Brad started with us right out of culinary school and opened up my Ohio restaurant, as well as became the chef of my Cayman restaurant and Dallas restaurant. Jeremy came to us from Jacksonville as a young 22 year old with a few spots under his belt, and he quickly became Paulas project and developed into the Bravo Top Chef winner and amazing restaurant operator. All these talented people had one common ingredient...they are all super passionate about food and have impacted me greatly over the years. I have so many stories to tell about them but I will save that for the night of the dinner. It is with great pleasure that I watch and admire their blooming careers. This dinner is to celebrate all the great things we achieved at 3030 Ocean together and I know everyone will enjoy this amazing night." - Dean Max

Dean Max
Founder
DJM Restaurants