People

Dean Max - Consultant Chef

Dean James Max comes from a dynasty of foodies. His grandfather, for many years a chef at an upstate NY resort, opened a much-loved bed-and-breakfast in Cape May. Dean's father, himself a New Jersey farmer's son, started his own farm on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Dean says he has fond memories of the bounty, both earthbound and marine, of Chesapeake Bay: “Growing up in this environment gave me an early insight about freshness and how foods work together.”

Moving with his family to Stuart, Florida, where his father became a produce broker for the major supermarkets, Dean became a student at Florida State University where he earned a BSc in Marketing, with a Hotel and Restaurant Management minor.

After college, Dean enrolled in The Florence Study Centre, Italy, and spent a season there, ‘making his bones’ in the cooking trade. “It was in Italy that I confirmed my love for food, and for natural cooking”.

With his newly acquired skills, recipes and commitment to cooking, Dean returned to the United States. There his classical training, coupled with his precise cooking technique, underpinned his passion for creative cooking as well as his keen understanding of the importance of fresh ingredients.

His cooking career soon took off, working first at Brasserie Savoy, in San Francisco's boutique Savoy Hotel followed by positions at the Ritz Carlton Dining Room in Pentagon City, Washington, DC; Gerard's Place, downtown Washington, DC; and the Ritz Carlton, Atlanta, GA.

By now a seasoned professional, Dean became executive chef and co-owner of the much-loved Atlanta restaurant, Mumbo Jumbo. From there he was coaxed back to the West Coast being named executive chef of the wildly popular Woodside, in Brentwood, Southern California.

Success brought an offer from the giant Marriott hotel group to create his own restaurant at one of its most prestigious properties, the Harbour Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

3030 Ocean, a unique dining concept, is today one of South Florida's most celebrated restaurants and one that Dean delivers “an experience that treats the taste through all senses”.

With many appearance on the Food Network, authorship of the book ‘Life By the Sea’, Dean has won wide recognition, including:

Best Chef in South Florida, 2005, Boca Raton MagazineBest Chef South Florida, 2006, National Restaurant AssociationJames Beard Recognized Chef

Niven Patel - Executive Chef

Some chefs stumble into their occupation, while others are career changers who decide after years in one profession to make a change. Neither was the case for Chef Niven Patel. “I have been cooking all my life. I used to make my menus as a child and let my family order, and then I went into the kitchen to cook whatever they wanted”.

A quest for creativity was the impetus and continues to be the driving force behind Chef Niven’s career. Patel’s first glimpse into the restaurant world was during culinary school, and he was hooked. “I was cooking and working in restaurants the whole time during college”. At the age of 17 he started working and still does with renowned Chef Dean James Max, who he credits as his most influential mentor. Of the experience and his teacher he reflects, “it was fantastic. It still lives and breathes in my head. It is the bar by which I measure myself”.  Starting his career at 3030 Ocean Restaurant at the Harbour Beach Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale Florida, Chef Niven worked there for six years then traveled to Italy to cook there for six months, returning to the U.S. to be a part of the opening team of Watertable Restaurant at the Renaissance Baltimore. From there, Patel went on to become the Executive Chef at the four-diamond resort Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada, Florida for two years. Chef Niven Patel is now excited to join Chef Dean Max again as the Executive Chef at The Brasserie Restaurant and Market.  

One of the things that help Patel deliver his critically acclaimed dishes everyday is the people he surrounds himself with. His goal here at The Brasserie and Market is to build cooks into chefs. For young cooks dreaming of one day becoming a chef, Patel offers some words of wisdom, cultivated over his many years of due diligence, “Be inquisitive. Every time there is something you don’t know, research it, look it up”. Clearly the success of the highly disciplined Patel proves that the chef is guided by his own advice.

Kyle W. Kennedy - Manager / Sommelier

Kyle Kennedy, a native Ohioan, is not only a Certified Sommelier, but also a trained mixologist. And, as if that were not enough, he is currently pursuing professional beer qualifications.

When he was just 14, Kyle got his start in the restaurant business in the kitchen of a small, family-owned pizzeria in Grove City, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Soon he began to learn the front of the house while working for Bars On Wheels, his father's beverage and catering business in Cincinnati. At the same time, Kyle was also honing his skills at a fine-dining restaurant.

Traveling the world for a year after high school, Kyle visited Australia, New Zealand, Europe and parts of South America, where he discovered that wine was an integral part of culture. While at Ohio State University studying Ethnobotany and Food Science, Kyle decided he wanted to be a hospitality professional and began seriously studying wine. He passed the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Course when he was 22, just months before graduating from college. He later qualified as Certified Sommelier as well as a Society of Wine Educators Certified Specialist of Wine.

After two years revamping several beverage programmes around Ohio, Kyle became the Sommelier & Assistant General Manager of the spectacular Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse in Louisville, Kentucky. There he managed the state's largest beverage programme, and 1 of only 850 restaurants worldwide to have earned the Wine Spectator's Best of Excellence ‘Two Glass’ Award.

However, Kyle was looking to expand his horizons, so he jumped at the opportunity to come to Grand Cayman and manage The Brasserie's beverage programme. Soon after arriving, he was promoted to General Manager and directed the development of the exciting new Brasserie Market. Among all these roles, Kyle consults on all of the Brasserie's new ventures.

When Kyle is not busy serving his guests, he is developing his own restaurant concept design firm. Kyle is truly passionate about all things wine, food, and travel. His long-range vision, he says, is to be able to consult for restaurants all over the world.

Winston "Big Boy" - Gardener

Winston is the dedicated head gardener and produce farmer for The Brasserie and manages the landscaping for Cricket Square's extensive grounds.

Born in the cool, fertile hills of Mandeville, Jamaica, to a farming family, Winston attributes his love and knowledge of agriculture to his grandfather with whom he worked for many years.

This is reflected in his wide knowledge of growing crops, pest control, propagation and soil improvement.

Winston arrived as a temporary worker in Grand Cayman in 1990 to join the team of celebrated local landscape designer Margaret Barwick Winston's superior skills and work ethic were recognised immediately and he won a permanent position. Through the 1990s Winston worked as head gardener for Margaret Barwick, including a year at The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park which was then being developed.

After several years as the grounds manager for Grand Pavilion on Seven Mile Beach, Winston joined the Flowers Group and set to work on the park at Cricket Square, and, more recently, The Brasserie's own Market Garden.

Over the years Winston has earned a reputation as a true master gardener and is rightly respected by everyone he works with.

Dorson Wright - Capt. Brasserie Catch I

Operating off Grand Cayman, Brasserie Catch I is a 25' Grady White Dolphin powered by 2 x 150 Suzuki outboards, Captained by Dorson Wright.  Dorson was born in Cayman Brac and is a second-generation deep-water fisherman.  He spent many days as a boy fishing with his father where they perfected the technique of catching several species of deep water snappers at one time at great depth of up to 1200 ft. deep.  Dorson uses this technique today to keep The Brasserie and Market regularly supplied with the freshest deep-water snapper, a customer favorite.  

Atlee Evans - Capt. Brasserie Catch II

Operating off the lessor islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Brasserie Catch II is a 26' Shamrock powered by an inboard diesel engine, captained by Atlee Evans.  Atlee was born in Grand Cayman and was the first Caymanian to become a certified dive master.  Atlee ran his own water sports operation for many years until moving to Cayman Brac where he now fishes daily for The Brasserie and Market.  A daily catch can include wahoo, mahi mahi, satin snappers, day groupers (not the protected Nassau grouper) and yellow fin tuna.