Chef Info

Justin Harry, Executive Chef of TradeWinds Island Resorts, St. Pete Beach, FL

Spending five years in his youth in Naples, Italy, Chef Justin Harry fell in love with food, experiencing farm to table dining at a restaurant near his home. With all his childhood friends back in the USA, Justin started hanging around the local kitchens, helping out the chefs. Here he learned a deep respect for the freshest ingredients and has embraced an ongoing exploration of old world and modern cooking techniques.

His career path took him to resorts in Florida, Texas and Utah. He took special pleasure in preparing a meal for guests of their afternoon catch. “The aroma of fish grilling on an open fire, just feet away from the waters in which it was caught, is an experience that is long remembered,” observes Chef Justin.

Now Executive Chef at TradeWinds Island Resorts in St. Pete Beach, Florida, Chef Justin oversees the multiple kitchens and culinary staff of 14 dining and entertainment venues as well as the Banquet kitchen. The TradeWinds Island Grand Resort and the Guy Harvey Outpost – a TradeWinds Beach Resort are located just steps from each other on a stretch of white sandy beach kissed by the warm and tranquil waters of the Gulf of Mexico.


Aaron Schweitzer, Chef de Cuisine of RumFish Grill and Bar, St. Pete Beach, FL

Like many chefs-in-the-making, Aaron Schweitzer started young. He and his family vacationed on the Outer Banks and, at 17 years old, he thought he’d try to get work there and stay the whole summer. He landed in a kitchen run by a Culinary Institute of America graduate. The experience had a huge impact on him as he worked his way up from dishwasher to food prep by the end of the summer. Schweitzer went on to attend Pennsylvania Culinary Institute and has worked in cities such as New Orleans and Charleston before moving to Wilmington, NC. There he was the Chef de Partie at a private country club for four years before moving into a new direction as the Chef for Circa 1922. Throughout the following 14 years, he assisted in opening various concept restaurants to include Boca Bay, Prima , Osteria Cicchetti , The Grand Union Pub , The Kitchen and Osteria Cicchetti II. He’s led a varied career when it comes to cuisine styles, but he says all food really follows the same principles. “Just keep it simple.”

Bite-Sized Bits

Hometown: Dayton, Ohio.

First food memory: Making doughnuts when I was 7 with my mom.

Something you’d rather make than buy: Gnocchi. I like to make it with ricotta, eggs and flour.

Favorite sandwich: Reuben.

Favorite beverage: Spaten Opitmator.

Memorable meal: When I was on a surf trip to Costa Rica. We had mixed fish, shellfish, served with salad – which was really just red cabbage with vinegar and oil. It was just simple, fresh seafood seasoned with butter and garlic.

Favorite cookbook: It’s not really a cookbook, but The Food Lover’s Companion.

Celebrity guest: I cooked for the Beastie Boys when I was in New Orleans.