About The Two Chefs

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Mellissa Louty was born in Illinois, but before she was up on two legs her family moved to Sanford, FL where she grew up. Mellissa went on to attend Florida Southern College and then her love for food and the industry swayed her to enrolling and graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Academy in Orlando. From there she went on to work with many restaurants and companies gaining knowledge and working her way through the ranks. Her natural talent and the knowledge she gathered eventually lead her to becoming the Executive Sous of Seasons 52 in Atlanta Springs and then on to the Executive Chef position at Seasons 52 in Buckhead, then back home to Florida as the Executive Chef at the group’s Tampa and Sarasota locations.

In 2019 Mellissa started Blue Dahlia Catering. Mellissa realized during this time that her love of baking was much more than just that, and she had a talent for innovation, balance and flavors within the craft that she continuously pushes herself to nurture. She started Blue Dahlia Bakery and grew it quickly and now services a number of Sarasota/Bradenton restaurants and private clubs with bread and desserts. Blue Dahlia Catering offers full-service catering as well as simple drop-off or pick-up catering. 

Frank Imbarlina born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA is a journeyman chef earning reviews and stars in the NYC, Miami and Philadelphia markets. Cutting his teeth in the progressive-upscale NYC restaurant scene of the 90’s he went on to form Contemporary Caterers with his mentor Chef Larry Berson formerly of the NY Times 4 Star “The Carriage House”. During its successful 10 year run in NYC Frank left the business and NYC to accept offers elsewhere leading eventually to becoming Chef-Owner of the 4-Star Brass Monkey in Brigantine NJ, which was also chosen by Craig LeBan of the Philadelphia Inquirer as the “Best Restaurant On The Jersey Shore” during its time. Wanting to explore the indigenous ingredients, flavors, seafood & fish of the tropical southern U.S. Frank moved to Miami and eventually became the Executive Chef and Operator of the Urbanite Bistro earning 3 stars from the Miami Herald. In 2019 Frank moved to Sarasota with plans to open a restaurant, but the Covid outbreak put and end to those plans. It was at that time trying to figure out his next move that Frank decided to start “SRQ Cured ♦ Local Charcuterie & Smoked Fish” producing wholesale products for markets and eateries in Florida. He also started Bootsy’s Pot Pies at that time. 

Frank is also the author of two books, “Key West Mex” and “Shelter In Soup”. The latter written during the pandemic based on soups made from simple and limited ingredients.