Owner -
Harriet Crommelin
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 Harriet
Crommelin, owner of Café Thirty-A, opened the popular Seagrove
Beach restaurant in June of 1995 after recognizing the need for
a casual fine dining experience in South Walton.
Within two years Café Thirty-A was named one of Florida’s top
200 restaurants by Florida Trend Magazine. The restaurant’s
extensive wine list has also garnered an Award of Excellence
from Wine Spectator Magazine seven years in a row.
She credits her successful 25 years of experience in the
restaurant business with knowing how to put a good team together
and treating every patron like a friend.
“I’ve made a lot of good friends through meeting my customers,”
she said. “The whole Café Thirty-A staff is like family and so
are our customers.”
But Harriet didn’t always intend to own the hottest restaurant
in town.
As the daughter of a Naval Vice Admiral, she moved around a lot
as a child and at the age of 13 moved to Montgomery, Alabama,
upon her father’s retirement.
She received her B.A. from the University of Alabama and delved
into the legal, investment banking and real estate businesses
before finding her niche in the early 1980’s when she opened
Montgomery’s popular, award-winning Kat & Harri’s and The Bistro
restaurants. |
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Chef Ken Duenas
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 Executive Chef Ken
Duenas was born in Guam and traveled the world as an Army brat until
his father retired from the military in Fort Walton Beach. Like many
great chefs, Ken began working at local restaurants at the age of 16
doing various jobs. After graduation from high school he wanted to
further his career in the food and beverage industry and attended
the Culinary Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. While attending
school there, he honed his skills at such restaurants as Arizona
2400 on Las Olas, The Raindancers Steakhouse, and 17th & Causeway
Bistro. When he returned to this area in 1993 he was eager to share
his experience and love of cooking, which he did, at Sandcastles and
Seagars Restaurants, both located at the Sandestin Hilton; Marina
Café in Destin; and Destin CHOPS, where he became Executive Chef. He
began his stint as Executive Chef at Café Thirty-A in September
2005.
Fusion cuisine is Ken’s favorite because he enjoys putting together
foods of different cultures in various ways with an emphasis on
purity and simplicity. His philosophy is to take the very finest and
freshest products and combine them with creative flare. According to
Ken, mealtime should be a celebration of food, drink and fun.
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General Manager -
David Kessler
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Having grown up in Fort
Walton and graduated from Choctaw High School, David is a true
native to this area. He attended the University of West Florida
while working in the restaurant business refining his talents. He
came to Café Thirty-A as a waiter in 1996 and was promoted to
Service Manager in 1999 and most recently to General Manager. "David
is an extremely knowledgeable, conscientious and dedicated employee
and I am pleased that he represents Café Thirty-A as our General
Manager," said owner Harriet Crommelin.
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Office Manager - Gloria Bibby
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 Gloria Bibby started at Café Thirty-A
in 1997 as a cook in the pantry and pastry departments. With a background in accounting,
management and sociology, she moved to a management position in 1999 as Office Manager.
"Gloria’s great attention to detail and management skills makes her the perfect
complement to David as General Manager." said owner Harriet Crommelin. Originally
from Southern California, Gloria attended the University of California at San Diego and
Gulf Coast College Culinary Program. She completed an externship program at Serge
Blanco’s Thalassotherapie in Hendaye, in the southern region of France. She also
holds the Master Gardener designation from the Florida Cooperative Extension
Service. |
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Assistant
Manager - Parago Williams
 Parago
Williams is our most recent addition. Born and raised in
Germany, she moved to the United States in1999. At the age of
16 she started working in her mother's vegetarian restaurant and has
been in the business ever since. She has worked in just about
every type of restaurant including Italian, Spanish, German and
Japanese. Furthermore, Parago traveled extensively throughout
Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Prior to moving to
Florida, Parago worked for Frank Stitt at Bottega Café in
Birmingham, AL whilst completing her degree in psychology. She
graduated from UAB in May 2005.
Sous Chef - Cody
E. Smith  Born
in San Diego, CA, Cody began his culinary career at the age of 16
working in various local restaurants where he found his
appreciation for and knowledge of fine food.
Following high school he attended the California Culinary
Academy San Diego while at the same time serving as Sous Chef of
California Cuisine Restaurant.
Since graduating from culinary school he has been Executive
Chef of the following restaurants:
The Grizzly Bar & Grill, Madison Valley, MT; Lakeside
on Hauser Lake, Helena, MT; and California Cuisine, San Diego.
His love for his son Ryan and for fine cuisine brought him
to Florida and Café Thirty-A where he has been our Sous Chef
since March 2006.
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