Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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What Gov. Charlie Crist Eats [Name Dropping At Its Finest]

Posted May 16, 2008 by Jeff Houck

Updated May 16, 2008 at 06:32 PM

One of the chefs doing demos at the TBW&FF grand tasting tent was Joshua Butler, executive chef for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

Butler said he’s has been cooking for Florida’s chief executive for about 10 years, cooking first for Lawton Chiles, then for two-term former Gov. Jeb Bush and his family.

Butler was sauteeing wild Florida pink shrimp in a mixture of tomato sauce, lime juice and mango puree. Pretty damn tasty. He was doing a demo on behalf of the Florida agriculture department and the Ocean Conservancy.

Crist, who is single, is a very different food consumer than the Bush clan was. Charlie sometime eats only once a day - not the best idea from a dietary standpoint. (The Lakeland Ledger reported in 2006 that he “eats only one meal a day, subsisting on Red Bull and occasional handfuls of pork rinds or other snacks with a light beer or two at night.”)

“He eats a lot of salads,” Butler says.

According to a bio I found online at the Great American Seafood Cook-off:

Butler was born on December 8, 1976 in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a child, his fascination with cooking grew from watching his family in the kitchen. His natural talent with cooking lead him to chose the culinary arts as a career.

In 1994, Chef Butler began his career as a prep cook at an upscale American restaurant. On his first day, his experience of the high paced restaurant kitchen assured his choice of becoming a chef. From 1994 until 1998, Chef Butler’s culinary experience ranged from cafes to fine dining, which enabled him to learn the many facets of cuisine.

Hands-on learning has proven Chef Butler’s most effective method of education. As a self-taught chef, he feels, “To become a better chef one must always read and keep up to date with the food industry and to truly experience cuisine one must be hands-on physically working with food”.

In 1998, while working at the Governor’s club, he was given the opportunity to interview for the position of Executive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion. After a series of interviews he was chosen to be the next Chef for the Governor of Florida. He has since served three Governors and many dignitaries of the state. Chef Butler currently creates inventive and exciting cuisine for Florida’s First Family, Jeb and Columba Bush. At the mansion he has the creative freedom to experiment with many ingredients and different styles of cuisine. He does not limit himself to one way of cooking, and often explores exotic spices and unusual techniques.

For some Florida pink shrimp recipes, click over to www.fl-seafood.com and WildFloridaShrimp.com.