Dean James Max is true third generation 'foodie'. His grandfather, a chef at an upstate New York resort went on to open and operate a quaint bed and breakfast in Cape May. His father grew up on a farm in New Jersey and started his own farm on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Max recalls tending his own pepper patch as a small child and enjoying the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay.

It may be that he inherited his chef genes from his grandfather, but his youth was spent in farm coveralls rather than chef's whites.

"Growing up in this environment gave me an early insight about freshness and how foods work together. We'd harvest our crops, pick only the finest and then test our creative cooking juices in the kitchen at home".

The family later relocated from Virginia to Stuart, Florida, where Dean's father became a produce broker for major Florida supermarkets and Dean enrolled in Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing, with minor in Hotel and Restaurant Management. A season in Italy - 'making his bones' in the cooking business and enrolled at the Florence Study Center - confirmed Dean's love for food, particularly when it is prepared naturally. He returned to the United States with new skills, new recipes and a renewed commitment to cooking.

To this day, Chef Max credits his time living in Italy with his decision to become a chef, his classical training in French cuisine for his precise cooking technique, and his farming family for planting the seeds that grew into his passion for creative cooking with only fresh and flavorful ingredients.

New Max in Town

Furthering his cooking career, Dean went on to hold positions with Brasserie Savoy located in San Francisco's boutique Savoy Hotel, the Ritz Carlton Dining Room in Pentagon City, Virginia - just outside Washington, D.C., and Gerard's Place in downtown Washington, D.C. as well as the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta, Georgia.

By now a seasoned chef, Max's next endeavor was an executive chef and part owner of Atlanta's popular Mumbo Jumbo Restaurant. His culinary star clearly on the ascent, Dean was beckoned back to the West Coast where he was named executive chef of the Woodside in Brentwood, one of Southern California's most popular restaurants.

It was there that Max received a call from Marriott and an offer to create and design his own restaurant and dining concept at one of the lodging giant's most prestigious properties, Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, Fort Lauderdale. The move to Fort Lauderdale would prove to be an auspicious homecoming for the new Max in town as he set about creating 3030 Ocean. From the interior's rolling wave motif and abstract starfish adornments to the sweeping seaside vistas that serve as the bistro's panoramic backdrop, the 3030 Ocean experience is an experience that treats the taste through all the senses.