Meet Our Team
Executive Chef/Sommelier Nathan Davis
Chef Nathan Davis grew up in the small town of Bucksnort, TN. It was there that he rubbed shoulders with his grandmother not only in the kitchen, but in the garden as well. Learning the importance of attention to detail and maximizing every ingredient, he understood that this was a place where food was a way of life. He grew up in an area of Tennessee where the produce has several seasons and various uses, from lettuces for a fresh salad to canning tomatoes for sauce during the winter months. After mastering the family recipes and skills passed down from generation to generation, Nathan learned that creating a beautiful meal was always more meaningful when shared with family and dear friends. With this philosophy and passion instilled in his soul, it was no surprise that he quickly rose through the ranks in his restaurant career. At 24, his hard work and determination paid off as he landed the sous chef position for the Thompson Hotel in Nashville run by the Besh Restaurant Group. After leaving Nashville and moving to the Emerald Coast, Nathan worked under famed chef Emeril Lagasse.
This experience allowed him the opportunity to continue his work as Chef de Cuisine for the Stinky’s Restaurant Group and award-winning Cuvee Kitchen + Wine Bar. Sharing his love of food and family, Chef Nathan designed the Polished Chef to help others create those moments that will last a lifetime. To this day, Chef has featured in many WJHG Panama City News “Foodie Friday” segments and over 500 commercials a year including FOX, ESPN, and more. He was awarded the Best Chef in Destin in the 2023 “Best In Destin” Awards by VIP Destin Magazine. Today he resides in Freeport, FL with his family and their two Labradors, Oyster and Pearl.
Director of Operations Jeanette Fox
Jeanette’s journey began in the rugged landscapes of Colorado, where she was deeply influenced by the values of community and a love for adventure. After proudly serving in the Air Force, she pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a Master’s in Industrial Organizational Psychology.
Jeanette’s professional background spans operations, finance, and marketing, with a strong focus on sales and organizational development. Her leadership style is anchored in enhancing customer service, boosting efficiency, and fostering collaboration—key drivers for growth and a positive work culture.
Outside of work, Jeanette has had a lifelong passion about cooking, viewing it as a way to create lasting memories. She is grateful for the opportunity to blend her professional skills with her personal interests. When she’s not spending time with her family, Jeanette enjoys gardening, hiking, and practicing yoga, finding balance and inspiration in nature and wellness.
Executive Sous Chef Robert Alexander
Chef Robert Alexander joined the Polished Chef team in 2023. Before the Polished Chef, he was the Chef de Cuisine at Fonville Press. Hailing from Richmond, VA, Robert brings a robust background of culinary experience to the Polished Chef. He knew he wanted to cook for the rest of his life at 10 years-old. As a child, he would spend time with his grandfather, known as “Papa.” He would help his Papa cook for their large family gatherings on Sundays and learn kitchen skills from him, such as how to sharpen his first knife on a river stone. He decided to pursue his culinary career full time and enrolled at Johnson & Wales University. Following graduation from culinary school, Robert pursued and captured an internship at Walt Disney World and later joining the team for Jean-Georges restaurant at Philadelphia’s Four Seasons hotel. He then moved to New York to work at another location of Jean-Georges in Bridgehampton, before trading his views of the Northeast for the mountains of Asheville, NC. In 2022, he became the Executive Chef at Benne on Eagle and The Foundry Hotel. Following that year, he won 1st place on the hit reality-based cooking competition series, Food Network’s Chopped “Halloween Spooktacular” episode on Season 56.
“Chef Robert was so professional and handled everything with such ease and professionalism. He even smiled and was unfazed when my nephews were having a nerf gun war around the kitchen. Chef Robert brought the restaurant to us and did everything from cook the food, set the table, serve us the food, and he cleaned up! 🤩
The food was epic! We travel a lot for work all over the world and have had lots of good food and Chef Robert left us speechless (which is hard to do with us) Can’t say enough about the flavors and textures and taste! WOW!!! I will be booking more courses next time!”
— BRITTNEY KRISTIJANTO
Fabulous fun…and delicious!
Chef Nathan and Chef Robert prepared a perfect meal paired with wonderful wines for our family gathering of 11 guests. One person said they expected the meal to be delicious, but didn’t expect a fabulous experience, which it was. The entire team was entertaining, informative, and professional. We’d never hired a personal chef and were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was from booking to eating!
We highly recommend The Polished Chef.”
— CHRIS BAUER
Chef Assistant Conall Wilson
Conall Wilson recently graduated from Seacoast Collegiate High School in 2023. He was born in North Carolina, moved to Ireland when he was five years-old, and then moved back to the states about four years ago. He has lived in Santa Rosa Beach where his father has his own restaurant with his twin brother, Conall worked with them in the restaurant business from a young age. There, he learned most of his customer service and restaurant/food industry skills. He has experience in a few other restaurant businesses and is also a lifeguard on the side. During his free time, Conall enjoys listening to music, traveling, playing football and lacrosse. He is currently a freshman at the University of Tampa. When he’s back in 30A from classes, he assists our Chef team in private dinners and events, providing spectacular customer service, and learning Chef Nathan’s new recipes.“Fantastic experience with The Polished Chef. Chef Hayden and his Assistant Chef Conall were polite, personable and so professional. They hosted a birthday dinner that was delicious and so well prepared. They were knowledgeable of the food being presented and it was plated perfectly! The food was prepared with love and had so much flavor! From the appetizer through the dessert, their expertise and love of cooking shown through. We will definitely be rebooking with them in the future and would highly recommend them to our family and friends.”
— KRISTIN DOBSKI
“Our experience with Polished Chef was exactly what we wanted it to be and more! Chef Owen and Conall were both professional, fun and the food was incredible! After a day of fun in the sun, we were so thankful that they not only shopped and cooked but CLEANED UP! Thank you so much for a wonderful experience start to finish!”
— MICHELLE SIGNORELLI
Chef Owen Thomas Cunningham
Chef Owen Cunningham was born in Vermont and moved to the Destin, Florida area when he was 4 years-old. He grew up surrounded by cooking and the restaurant business, since his father has been an executive chef for years, he learned his cooking skills from his father. Owen has been in the restaurant business for about 5 years. He graduated from Seacoast Collegiate High School in 2023 and currently attends FAU. His favorite hobbies outside of cooking are lacrosse and golf. Owen is a quick learner and has worked closely with Chef Nathan during our private dinners to learn our signature recipes. He now specializes in our delicious Southern backyard seafood boils and other private dinner services to share his passion for cooking with our clients.“Owen was exceptional!! He was extremely professional. He interacted with us appropriately and we had such a great time with them. The food was honestly some of the best we’ve ever tasted. And we eat out a whole lot. Everything was so fresh and flavorful. AND, he did an exceptional job cleaning everything up. I would recommend him and this company over and over again. Hope to do it again next year.”
— LISA EASTON
“We were celebrating our son’s proposal and in all the excitement I had failed to make dinner reservations!! Last minute and they were able to squeeze us in with Chef Owen!!! It was a total blessing (God wink) and Owen was on time, so knowledgeable about the food and even accommodated our special gluten-free request. Highly recommend and will use again when we return for vacation!!!”
— MELINDA MIKESKA
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