Chef James Mills
Jimmy Mills was born in New Jersey but spent his childhood on a farm in West Virginia, where his mom taught him to cook using locally sourced ingredients before it was a thing. As a result, Jimmy learned the value of homemade, farm to table cooking early on.
Jimmy attended culinary school in New Jersey. After graduating, he worked under Chef David Ruggerio at Le Chantilly in New York City. Next, he worked under Charlie Palmer at Aureole. Jimmy’s wanderlust then hit hard and he set out to live and work abroad, moving first to Paris where he learned, among other things, the respect the French have for dining. After that, he lived and worked in Israel where he was enthralled with the unique spices and flavors in Middle Eastern dishes. Jimmy then traveled to Africa, South America, and Asia. He took cooking classes in Thailand at the Mandarin Oriental and was inspired by the different use of ingredients that he found much more complex and layered than in so many cuisines. His family ultimately brought Jimmy to Delray Beach, but it’s the ocean that’s made him stay. Jimmy does things his own way. His elegance, simplicity, and purity with food have earned him critical acclaim and a huge cult following. His humble relationship with the ingredients he selects makes for fresh, quality, flavor-forward dishes.