“If eating is a joy of your day, you want it to be good,” said chef Clark Huff, of Ocean Bay Dining.
Huff is founder and owner of Ocean Bay Dining who moved from Little Rock, Arkansas to the Florida Keys in 2015 to take a position as a regional manager for a food service company. After three years, they parted ways.
“I decided I don’t want to be a road warrior any more. I wanted to do my own thing and give the community another option for food,” he said.
Huff’s background and training are vast and impressive, including serving four past presidents, two Arkansas governors and various amazing events. He is also known for his award-winning smoked beef tenderloin.
Except for delivery, Huff works solely with his right-hand cook, Maggie McKeehan.
McKeehan, a retired paralegal turned cook and botanical driftwood artist, is a delight. The dynamics between the two of them made this interview fun — not to mention, McKeehan gave me a big piece of delicious pound cake to munch on.
“I wanted to provide something quick, affordable and it’s delivered to your house. The church, St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church, was gracious enough to allow us to utilize the kitchen. In addition to the meal planning business, we do a lot of catering, kid’s birthday parties, weddings and celebrations,” Huff said.
“When we have leftovers, we donate it, so I don’t eat it,” McKeehan jokes, adding seriously, “We do try to give back as much as possible.”
Each week, Ocean Bay Dining offers 18 to 20 meal options. Some of the most popular are chicken salad, chicken marsala, crustless quiche, lasagna, meatloaf and McKeehan’s famous picadillo. They also noted that people love the desserts, especially the rum cake.
“We like to keep it fresh, fun and interesting.” Huff said.
Many customers would also add in their favorites, easily multiplying this list.
“Prime rib is also very popular,” Huff said. “People love things that you normally go to a restaurant and order. A lot of my inspiration comes from a love of Asian and Italian food along with an eclectic mix of Southern food. I like to keep it versatile.”
Is there anything that hasn’t been well-received? Huff had to think for a moment, and you could tell McKeehan’s wheels were turning too. His response: “Meals that have been more vegan-related.”
“I can plan a menu and try to make it perfect, but the thing I think may be the best seller doesn’t end up that way, i.e., there is no predictability.” Huff buys from four suppliers — fresh vegetables and top choice meats. Overall, it’s a clean meal system and almost every meal just needs to be microwaved, taking about two to three minutes.
It’s fun to receive the menu which comes out on Sundays. You have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to send in your order and pay. His texting process is easy and convenient.
“Using the text messaging makes it especially easy for snowbirds to start again when they are back in town. They just key in ‘start,’ and they will get back on the menu messages,” Huff said.
Huff and McKeehan do the meal prep Thursdays and Fridays, and then the food is delivered on Saturdays. DJ Dougie Hitchcock and Tony Taylor help with this final important step as they help deliver from Ocean Reef down to Lower Matecumbe.
Besides all that, what else did we talk about? Chef Clark, and his wife Martha, an interior designer with L. Lynn Interiors, have also created dog food, as a solution several years ago after their dogs got sick from spoiled store-bought food. Currently, there are two options—a beef and sweet potato option and a chicken and rice option.
Pets deserve some good food too!
To be added to the Ocean Bay Dining text message, text “start” to 888-403-4503. You can also follow on Facebook @OceanBayDining, where they post the weekly menu, prices and payment options.
