Owner Rick Wahlberg with Executive Chef Brandon Silver holding fresh Gulf Red Snapper

Every restaurant has a story. And it all starts with the Owner and Chef. When you work as a Chef, finding the kind of place you can settle into takes years. Years of grueling, hard work. Years of opening and closing restaurants, working for various hot-tempered chefs or unappreciative owners, and working for low wages - all for the experience. Because a chef never stops learning and never thinks he (or she!) is above any kind of work. The mark of a good chef is one who is willing to lead the dishwasher with the same kind of compassion as his number one line cook.

It took Executive Chef Brandon Silver years to get to where he is now. Climbing the kitchen ranks, he is no stranger to the hard work a kitchen demands, especially one starting from scratch. Silver’s resume is loaded with big names: Rene Redzepi, Jose Andres, and Paul Qui, to name a few. After graduating cum laude from Le Cordon Bleu in 2008, he built a career and reputation through dedication and relentless hard work.

One of the most exciting things about the hospitality industry is that you never know who you will meet. Every day brings new challenges, but especially new opportunities. Because one of those days, you’ll meet someone that completely changes your life. Every chef’s dream is to meet an investor/owner who believes in him, his vision, his experience and is willing to take a risk to build something great.

Brandon met Owner Rick Wahlberg through a mutual restaurant acquaintance, and both knew immediately that something exciting was about to start. The partnership solidified after a research trip to Mexico City, where they toured, tried, and tasted their way through the city. Many of Shore’s most popular dishes come from that trip, and the inspiration continues to influence Chef Brandon’s creative process every day.

Brandon and Rick grew up with Louisiana influence, so when discussing restaurant concepts, it naturally came together with New Orleans at the forefront. Brandon’s father is from The Big Easy, so gumbo, po’boys, and jambalaya were all part of the Silver dinner table. Going out to eat in Louisiana with his dad is one of Chef’s most significant childhood memories. With his dad, Brandon learned how to cook proper cajun food, stocks, and the infamous roux, the central, most important ingredient for any gumbo worth its salt. Rick also shares his experience with some of the best Cajun Gumbo cooks in the world to give Brandon the knowledge to hit the mark with one of our customer’s most favorite dishes - Gumbo!

Raw bars and fresh fish are staples in any coastal city and something essential to have in a seafood restaurant, along with wood-fired cookery being foundational to the vision and all part of “getting the best flavor out of them,” as Chef likes to say.

When building the menu, it was important for Brandon and Rick to feel like they were “being themselves” in the process and not trying to do something that wasn’t theirs. When you’re building a kitchen from scratch, you’re constantly trying to keep the balance between “being original” and “doing what’s familiar” You’re continuously asking yourself, “What’s our voice?” Every restaurant has to think about their menu and what they want to communicate with their food. Every dish is a story; we build our stories “with fresh, seasonal ingredients to create something unique and memorable.”

Brandon loves bold, flavor-forward combinations to create fresh, engaging, and exciting dishes. “When you take a bite, you immediately want to take another one.” He wants you to experience all of it - fresh, raw, cooked, acidic, creamy, spicy, smokey, crispy, and crunchy. This type of inspired cookery Brandon brings to Shore’s kitchen leaves guests wanting one more bite.

Chef Brandon's Favorite Dishes: