Chef Jeff Margaretten is a self-taught lover of the art of sushi. In 2001, he was invited to a “make your own sushi” party, brought some fish, and  began the quest to make the perfect roll… Whenever there was party to be thrown, Jeff hung out in the kitchen, drank good sake' and rolled fresh fish until everyone could eat no more. Friends began to rave about the quality and flavors he had offered them. Chef Jeff was humbled and thankful.

 

Raised in Miami, Jeff graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans with a Masters of Architecture. In 1999, he moved to the Emerald Coast, to raise his family on the 30A and open Margaretten Architectural, a boutique residential and commercial design firm that Jeff still operates today, in Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

 

“A good friend of mine was planning an open house a few years back and asked if he could hire me to provide an all-you-can-eat-sushi buffet for the event,” Jeff recalls. His response:“You mean, Get Paid?” Needless to say, he accepted the job and embarked on a new career path with a knife and a rice cooker. Soon after, his beautiful wife Lisa, herself with a successful career in event planning and design, got involved, and a thriving sushi event business was born.

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For 2 ½ years Jeff worked as a Sushi Chef at Crush in Seaside, FL to hone his skills and practice his art. In the end however, it was always the personal service of a private party at someone’s home or business that was his true love…. Or as Jeff says, “that, and of course, Lisa, my five children and two grandchildren”.

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