Bobby sealed his fate at age 14 as dishwasher for a travel café and catering company. His fascination with its technical (Pâte á Choux pastry) and athletic (fry station on all-you-can-eat fish Friday) aspects sparked an ambition to excel in the kitchen. Culinary studies in New Orleans, countless travels as a stagiaire, and a stint as Chef de Cuisine under Midwestern Chef Dominic Rivera gave Bobby an intense appreciation for the relationship between quality ingredients and good food. He crafted his repertoire of seasonally inspired cuisine over 4 years as Executive Chef for Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, NC before hanging up his “whites” to join our team in 2013. As the Southern Foods Brand Manager, Bobby uses his palate, experience, and input from chefs to cultivate an ever evolving and utterly unique offering of the South’s favorite local and imported ingredients. Bobby can often be found on farms or in boutique production kitchens pursuing his passion to align chefs with food artisans who share the same love of their craft.

Dave found his passion for fish in school at the CIA where he volunteered as a teacher’s assistant in fish butchery class. He began his career working in seafood-centric fine dining restaurants like Oceana around New York City, then joined James Beard Award-winning chef, Jasper White as he set the new mold for contemporary New England seafood. Dave honed his craft as head fish butcher, hand-selecting hundreds of pounds of fish on the docks each morning and leading his crew of butchers to cut them fresh for Jasper’s restaurant group. Dave eventually leveraged this experience into a job at the legendary Foley Fish Company in Boston where he sold many tons of premium seafood to chefs around the country. Now as part of the Southern Foods team, Dave has condensed his years of experience into a vision for the finest fish shop in the Southeast. Dave believes strongly in having direct relationships with his fishermen, and exploring and supporting our local fisheries wherever possible.