Ariq Flax Clarke

Chef Ariq Flax-Clarke, a 26-year-old culinary prodigy hailing from the tropical paradise of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Miami, where he earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. He has been the recipient of various accolades in the culinary industry, including the Annual BVI Junior Chef Challenge and silver medals in the Taste of the Caribbean. He has honed his craft through his tenure at various renowned restaurants and resorts, and has also established his own catering company, Flax & Co Catering Services. Additionally, he is the Co-owner of Humble Buzz Honey Works, where he practices beekeeping. He had the distinguished opportunity to cook at the James Beard House where he displayed what authentic BVI cuisine should embody. He now creates delectable island-inspired meals aboard charter boats in the BVI, allowing food enthusiasts to savor the exotic flavors of the Caribbean.

Francis Reynard

The son of a French diplomat, born in Brazil and raised around the world, Francis Reynard began cooking after attending the Hotel Management School in the Southwest of France. His true love of cuisine developed after a six-month stage with Michel Guerard. From Guerard’s kitchen, he began his journey working with the top chefs and in some of the best restaurants in the world. From” Le Grand Vefour” in Paris, Roger Verge in Mougins, Freddy Girardet in Crissier, Alain Ducasse in Juan les Pins and Monte Carlo, Sirio Maccioni in New York and Gualtiero Marchesi in Milan.

In 1986, Francis was appointed Chef de Cuisine with Jean-Paul Lacombe at “Leon de Lyon”. From there, he traveled to Lugano, Switzerland and earned one Michelin star and 17/20 points in Gault et Millau, as Executive Chef of the “Villa Principe Leopoldo”. Following, in 1991, Francis went on to be named “Best Chef South Africa” during his 2-year reign at the “Grande Roche” in Paarl, South Africa. All three properties are members of the Relais et Chateaux group. Francis was then lured back to Europe to be the Executive Chef for Eckhart Witzigmann’s acclaimed “Aubergine” three star restaurant in Munich, Germany.

Francis’s success then took him further away from Europe to New York where he joined his longtime friend, chef Daniel Boulud and became his corporate chef and consultant in charge of special events, promotions and openings. This position included the reopening of Café Boulud and the new Daniel restaurant as well as events and fundraisers for a number of high profile individuals including Presidents Clinton, Bush, Chirac, Mandela, and Gorbachev, as well as the Late Princess Diana. Additional events include Time Magazine’s 75th Anniversary Party, USA Mercedes-Benz 500 Launch, Gastronomic Week in Moscow and Wedgewood China’s Gala in Frankfurt, Germany. Francis also opened and owned, a café on 15 Street andUnion Square called Comptoir Sud and over the years has made many television appearances for shows such as Arabe Good Morning South Africa, Arabella Kisbaeur in Germany,TF1 Sunday News in France, and Martha Stewart Living in the US.

Since leaving Daniel in 2001, Francis has been involved with a network of high end clients for whom he cooks privately in New York City and around the world, and on projects with Chefs Daniel Boulud in Beijing and Francois Payard (Payard Patisserie & Bistro) in Seoul, Korea. Francis has consulted for the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, as well as the Ralph restaurant in Paris and the ManRay hotel in Panama with Laurent Tourondel. . Francis is regularly involved in promotions that include a charity guest chef dinner in his birth place of Belem Brazil, guest chef bike tours in Europe, Bon Appetit magazine cruise programs on Silversea and the Food& Wine Cayman cookout with Eric Ripert. He is currently working on opening Cleo restaurant at the new Baha-Mar property in Nassau, Bahamas. 

Francis’s cuisine reflects the influence of his mentors, like Roger Verge, Alain Ducasse et Daniel Boulud and takes inspiration from travelling and eating.  It is with this in mind that Francis’s style has developed into one that is “French classic with a World influence and a New York State of Mind”.  Francis base is in New York City.

Josie Smith Malave

Josie Smith Malave is an award winning American chef, accomplished restaurateur, LGBTQ activist, Former mayoral candidate, Empowerment Trainer, TV HOST and stand-out competitor who has appeared on FOUR seasons of Bravo TV’s Top Chef and winner of Food Networks, Cutthroat Kitchen.  She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and raised in South Florida.

Chef Josie spent a decade submerged in the New York City food scene. She holds a degree from the Art Institute of New York City and earned her tutelage under renowned chefs Wylie Dufresne (WD-50), Jean-Georges Vongerichten (VONG), Caroline Fidanza (Marlow & Sons), Dan Silverman (Leverhouse Restaurant) and Walter Hinds (West Village, NYC). These are the chefs who helped to hone her culinary skills and influenced her chef identity.  Chef Josie’s food journey continued westward  to  San Francisco, where she lived for three years researching new foods, developing her concepts, starting a cookbook and beginning a transformational journey through permaculture principles, mindful living and meditation. Smith Malave’s Global Soul Corner, a pop up,  rocked onto the scene at Thee Parkside, in Potrero Hill. Her bold mix of authentic and native flavors, thoughtfully crafted has earned her the title of “Global Soul Chef.”In 2017, The Sun Sentinel named Chef Josie “Best Chef in South Florida”.

There is no doubt Smith Malave is a bohemian chef. She explains her “Eat well. Live happy” philosophy as a commitment to awakening, inspiring and empowering people through food while living life to the fullest.  Josie is dedicated to living as a contribution and you can find her volunteering any given weekend,  sharing her big warm smile with everyone she meets. She says “FOOD CONNECTS US ALL” and believes mindfulness, food and music can solve all world challenges.

Smith Malave is a proud owner of Bubbles + Pearls, a thriving champagne & oyster bar in the Ft Lauderdale neighborhood of Wilton Manors where she also resides with her wife Marcy and their “Furry and feather kids”.

Michael Ferraro

If Chef Michael Ferraro could capture his persona in a single spice, he’d be salt.  Unique yet universal, and coveted for its distinct characteristic of showing its power through absence.

Ferraro’s family immigrated to the United States from Southern Italy in the ‘50s.  Food was the center of his home – his parents owned a family business and he was tasked with helping in the garden and cooking.  At a young age, Ferraro and his brothers opened a restaurant, but ultimately a wise-word from his father to do it the “right way” landed him at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).  In 2002, Ferraro graduated from the CIA and went straight to New York.

“I was young and I was driven,” he says. “So, I packed up – no money and no job, just a passion for cooking, and a refusal-to-fail mindset.”

Ferraro’s opening resume builders were a young cook’s dream; he found himself in the kitchens of celebrity chefs, Waldy Malouf who at the time was running Beacon Restaurant, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s iconic Mercer Kitchen.  He learned quickly that a chef’s success starts with understanding the various hierarchies of the kitchen, and in 2003 took the chef tournant position at the famed 5-star, 5-diamond Four Seasons Hotel. Hard work paid off and after a brief stint at the reputable Biltmore Room, he accepted his first Chef de Cuisine position at the Patina Restaurant Group, followed by his first Executive Chef position at Michelin recommended and 2-star New York Times fine dining seafood restaurant, Fresh.

Ferraro intentionally moved around the kitchens of New York; he believed with each position came new lessons.  In 2008, with seven years and six kitchens under his belt, Ferraro gathered all his teachings and became Chef/Owner at Delicatessen in New York’s SoHo.  The foundation of the menu was seasonality, with a heavy lean into the always-nostalgic comfort food favorites.  Delicatessen’s success led to a second concept in 2009, Macbar, a restaurant exclusively dedicated to offering playful riffs on America’s favorite side, macaroni & cheese.

The years went fast, but not without recognition.  Ferraro was part of Zagat’s inaugural “30 Under 30” (2011) and was featured on The Cooking Channel and the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” “Chopped” and judged on “Beat Bobby Flay.” He also secured a reoccurring guest Chef expert appearance alongside Jon Taffer on Paramount TV’s “Bar Rescue.”

After 11 successful years, Ferraro and his partners decided to sell the restaurants.  The timing was uncanny; a little over a year later, the entire world came to a halt and New York’s dining industry collapsed.  Twenty years had flown by, and a chance to reflect on his next chapter found him evaluating what was important at this stage in his career.   In 2021 Ferraro, made a bold move to relocate to Orlando, accepting a position as VP of Food and Beverage for Tavistock Restaurant Collection.  As shared in a relevant Wall Street Journal article that Ferraro was featured, his decision was personal, but also very much aligned with a larger exodus of city chefs who were leaving major metropolises to finding new destinations.

Within the Tavistock restaurant portfolio, Ferraro oversees 15 unique restaurants spanning over locations in Boston, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Central and South Florida.  In his first year, he was at the helm of two successful re-openings, Timpano Las Olas and Timpano Hyde Park, the latter of which was recognized in Michelin’s inaugural Florida guide. Tavistock Restaurant Collection’s corporate offices in Lake Nona, Orlando, serves as the central hub of the company’s focus with highly anticipated openings already slated for 2023 and 2024. Today, Ferraro’s resume reads like an incredible list of “best-ofs,” but despite his copious amounts of achievements, many would stay still say that Ferraro is “salt of the earth.”

Neil Cline

Chef Neil Cline believes in culinary education and giving our future culinarians the foundation to be successful in the Caribbean culinary industry.  Neil obtained his Masters in Hospitality Management from The Baltimore International College, and for the last 25 years he has been an educator in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Chef began teaching in the high schools and then became the Director of The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College Culinary Center.   The Culinary Center is one of the top culinary schools in the Caribbean region that provides training that leads to an Associate Degree.  Now in his last years before retiring, Chef Neil has returned to the community as one of the culinary instructors at the Virgin Island School of Technical Studies.  Giving back to the young community is one of Chef Neil’s greatest joys.

In the hurricanes of September 2017, Chef Cline lost three businesses, but because of his resilience and passion for Culinary and the Hospitality Industry, he has secured two other establishments since then. Ivans Stress  Free Bar, Villas and Beach Bungalows White Bay Jost Van Dyke, in the capacity of co-owner/ Executive Chef and Koncepts Kitchen at Indigo Beach House which is in the top five places to dine in the BVI.

Chef Cline has his plate full as an educator, restaurateur, and consultant.  Neil participates in many Charity events and has traveled all over the Caribbean and world to celebrate culinary arts. In May 2017, Chef Neil hosted the first Minority Chef Summit in the BVI, which invited over 20 of the top minority chefs around the world.  He is also the first indigenous BVIslander and Chef to cook at the infamous James Beard House in New York City in June 2017 for the West Indies Dinner.  Neil was a busy chef in spring of 2018 and 2019 where he was invited to be the guest Chef on the Holland American Cruise line for two years. This culinary adventure on sea has taken him across the Atlantic Ocean from Tortola BVI to Gambia, Africa and throughout the southern Caribbean to showcase Virgin Islands cuisine.

Chef Neil Cline is the Chef of the British Virgin Islands.

“Food is a celebration of Culture and Life”

Muchamad "Opick" Taufik

Muchamad Taufik aka Opick is the Head Chef of Prime Restaurant in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Chef Opick hails from Bali, Indonesia, where his background in Asian cuisine was brought to light in top resorts around the world.  His culinary roles were further honed in settings such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, The Laguna a Luxury Collections Resort and Spa, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.