Chef Dean Max is a President of DJM restaurants, his company that specializes in restaurant concept development and ongoing management, has been an established leader in the culinary world for many years now.  He has celebrated the launch of numerous destination restaurants, starting in 1999 with his flagship, 3030 Ocean restaurant created in the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort in Ft. Lauderdale.  He quickly opened Latitude 41 in the Renaissance Columbus, Ohio and then the Brasserie in Grand Cayman, AMP 150 in Cleveland, Asador restaurant in the Dallas Renaissance, Parallel Post restaurant in Trumbull, Connecticut, and most recently his name sake restaurant, James Republic, in Long Beach California. DJM has also worked on multiple short term projects like the multi-million dollar renovation of Cheeca Lodge Resort and Spa in Islamorada, the Renaissance Inner Harbor Baltimore, and the Marriott Singer Island Resort and Spa. His restaurants are all based around farm to table concepts and they are deeply involved in grass roots marketing programs that develop them as destination locations. Max has a laundry list of accomplishments from multiple James Beard nominations for Best Chef, crowned King of American Seafood in 2010, wrote an amazing seafood cookbook in 2006, and holds many restaurant accolades from multiple properties.