Justin Sharpe has loved cooking since he was a kid. From working alongside his grandmother on a family meal to his many jobs in prestigious restaurants and vineyards across the country, Sharpe has honed his cooking skills to perfection.
Sharpe’s restaurant, Chef’s Bistro 30A in Gulf Place offers a delightful array of cuisines from French to Jamaican that will titillate every palate.
“We offer a wide variety of styles, techniques, and cuisine,” Justin said. “We have Italian, Jamaican, Pacific Islander, Asian, French, traditional American, Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, and our own fusions. We have Wagyu burgers, omelets, poke bowls, curry chicken and lamb, Italian meats lasagna, Cajun tortellini, duck fat ribeye, fish tacos and seafood enchiladas just to name a few of our menu items.”
Justin has trained under several chefs and has cooked for many a celebrity over the past 20 years. He said that in all his years of training, he learned more from his mentor Jacques than he ever learned in a classroom.
“I cook as well as I do now because of learning from Jacques in Solvang, California,” Justin said. “I worked all over the Santa Barbara wine country. I started out at Justin Vinyards, then I went down to Birnum Wood Golf Club and Montecito Country Club to Los Angeles cooking for the likes of Mike Douglas, Kirk Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones. We even had Betty White’s birthday parties and Save the Animals galas.”
That fast-paced life of California left something lacking for Justin, as he said he began to get burnt out.
“I just got fed up with L.A. and I thought, ‘Where did I live the last time I was happy?’” Justin said. “So, my wife Candice and I moved to Clearwater, Florida and opened Chef’s Table Café. After two years in business, we had a line at the door awaiting our opening and were on a wait for most of the day."
Justin said he discovered a breakthrough in the menu when he and his wife decided to incorporate a Jamaican food menu to the restaurant. The couple fused Justin's classic French techniques to Candice's cultural and traditional Jamaican dishes and the result was a hit.
"We sold out of Oxtails, Curry Goat, Curry Chicken, and Jerk Chicken almost every day before we sold that restaurant and moved back to this area,” he said.
Now from his kitchen in Gulf Place, Justin offers the freshest food he can get his hands on and the most flavorful combinations you can imagine.
"We buy all our seafood from Destin Ice Seafood and Water Street Seafood and they both buy from the local docks,” Justin said. “We source from the local farmers markets when we can and are always seeking Fresh Florida products. We also get products directly from Georgia and Alabama fruit and vegetable farmers I have met as customers of the restaurant.”
Whether a local or vacationer in the Santa Rosa Beach area, Chef's Bistro 30A, or the equally acclaimed Chef's 30A Deli just up the street, will have something fresh and new to taste and discover.
“We have a humble location that serves some of the best, freshest, highest quality food in the area with our own culinary twists,” Justin said. “I would consider us a casual family friendly restaurant with fine dining quality flavor and presentation.”
“We have a humble location that serves some of the best, freshest, highest quality food in the area with our own culinary twists,” Justin said.