Chef Jeffery McInnis got his culinary start working on local boats and cleaning the catches of the day in his hometown of Niceville Florida. After graduating from high school, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina to attend Johnson and Wales University. While in school, he worked at Atlanticville Restaurant outside of Charleston.

McInnis traveled and worked at various restaurants after graduating from culinary school. He began as Sous Chef at Asolare in St. John in the Virgin Islands, a Caribbean-Asian restaurant. Next, in San Francisco, Chef McInnis worked at the fine dining Asian-French restaurant, Azie. There, he earned a promotion to Sous Chef and learned Japanese cuisine from the sushi chefs while polishing his French techniques. When he moved to rural Virginia, he worked at Keswick Hall, an exclusive 5-star hotel owned by The Orient Express. McInnis moved to Florida in 2004 to work with the famed Chef Norman Van Aken at Norman’s.

Returning to his native Florida, Jeff worked directly under famed Chef Norman Van Aken. In 2006, McInnis became Chef de Cuisine of The DiLido Beach Club at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach. At DiLido he uses local ingredients to create Southern Mediterranean and North African-inspired cuisine and, best of all, it’s all served right on the beach.

One of the favorite Cheftestants on the hit Bravo TV show, “Top Chef: Season 5,” Chef McInnis cooked his way into the finals of the competition. Jeff is also busy this year writing his cookbook entitled, The Natural Course, to be published in 2009, as well as appearing in Festivals around America.

Chef McInnis has been honored several times as a guest chef at the James Beard House. In addition he was recently named a “rising star” on starchefs.com and one of the “Best of the City” by Miami Magazine. Committed to giving back to the Miami community, he leads the Ritz Carlton’s sponsorship of culinary fundraising events for organizations like The March of Dimes, Children’s Homes Society, and Taste of the Nation.