Jim Shirley travels to Chicago as Celebrity Chef of Florida

On March 22, Visit Florida is hosting a media reception to highlight "Untold stories of Florida." Tourism partners will gather from around the state to highlight upcoming events and attractions that they represent. Chef Jim Shirley will attend the event, providing special food tastings for the media and tourism partners that will highlight the State's culinary relevance in the country's food scene. Chef Shirley is billed as The Celebrity Chef for the State of Florida. He has also been asked to attend other Visit Florida events to promote the State as a Celebrity Chef.

"Part of what makes a menu great at any restaurant is the inclusion of fresh local ingredients," said Chef Shirley. "Florida has many fantastic resources for restaurants. For example, in 2008, Florida had 47,500 commercial farms, utilizing 9.25 million acres to continue to produce a variety of food products. Many people think that Florida just grows citrus, but we are ranked second in the United States in the value of production of strawberries, bell peppers, and cucumbers for pickles, and we are fourth in the nation for the value of honey production. We are also tenth in the nation for the exportation of beef. Speaking as a chef, this is a wonderful state, rich in agriculture as well as aquaculture."

The "Untold Stories" event will be held at Chicago's hot new boutique hotel, The Wit. Other attendees from The State of Florida are:

Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel

Beaches of South Walton

Discover the Palm Beaches & Boca Raton

Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau

Naples, Marco Island, Everglades - The Paradise Coast

Paradise Found Resorts & Hotels, Panama City Beach

Sarasota & Her Islands Convention & Visitors Bureau

Seminole County Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Dali Museum

Visit Orlando

Visit Pensacola

Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater

For more information regarding this event, contact: Laura Cassels, Public Relations Representative VISIT FLORIDA®, (850) 205-3839, www.VISITFLORIDA.com

Jim Shirley is co-owner with Collier, Will, and Burney Merrill of the Great Southern Restaurant Group, Inc., which owns The Fish House, Atlas Oyster House, and The Fish House Deck Bar in Pensacola, Florida, and is co-owner-along with the Merrill's-of the Great Southern Café in Seaside, Florida. For years, he wrote a weekly column, Good Grits! for the Pensacola News Journal, and now writes on a regular basis for the newspaper's columns Chef's Corner and Wine Time.

More on the Fish House: Upscale dockside dining overlooking beautiful Pensacola Bay and Seville Harbor. Just steps away from Historic Seville Square, our award-winning restaurant features an inventive menu of fresh, daily seafood selections, house-smoked steaks, sushi, a hand-selected wine list with over 300 wines, and our world-famous Grits à Ya Ya: A delectable Southern specialty of smoked Gouda cheese grits smothered with a sauce of fresh cream, sautéed Gulf shrimp, spinach, portobello mushrooms, applewood-smoked bacon, garlic, and shallots. Full bar. Late-night menu. Brunch on Sundays.

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