Author Biography
Cindy Hutson is a self taught chef who developed a passion for cooking at the age of nine. After high school Hutson left New Jersey to move to the sunny skies of Miami. In late 1994 Hutson met a new life partner, Delius Shirley. In November 1994 they opened Norma's on the Beach. Norma's was touted as the best Caribbean restaurant in South Florida. In 1996 they were awarded the coveted 5 Star Diamond Award for the fabulous dining at Norma's on the Beach and have continued to hold that same prestigious award at Ortanique on the Mile. Cindy was also named Chef of the Year by Chef Magazine in 2011 and Chef of the Year by Eater in 2012. Currently Hutson and Shirley run three restaurants: their now sixteen-year-old love-child, Ortanique on the Mile (Coral Gables, Florida), which opened with Esquire and Bon Appetit acknowledging it as one of the Best New Restaurants and Conde Nast Traveler awarding it as one of their Hot Table concepts; their five-year-old Ortanique on the Crescent at Camana Bay on Grand Cayman Island, which has been praised by Cayman News Magazine as one of the Top 50 Best Restaurants in the Caribbean; and a Cindy Huston-concept restaurant in Harbour Island, Bahamas at The Dunmore Hotel which opened in 2012. Later this fall they will open Zest, a fine-dining concept, and Zest MRKT, a grab and go concept for breakfast and lunch, in Miami's booming business district, Brickell. Hutson and Shirley will also take their talents to Negril, Jamaica at the boutique hotel, The Cliff, where Hutson's cuisine will be enjoyed alongside white sands and blue waters.
