restaurant would be when I was at
in hotel and restaurant management.
Auburn, it would have been SpringHouse
He went on to study at and graduate
down to the detail," he says.
from the New England Culinary
McDaniel had his chef epiphany
Institute in Vermont. It was in
when he was a student at Auburn
Vermont that McDaniel realized the
and took a side job at Ruby Tuesday.
importance of sustainable cooking and
"It was an Auburn football Saturday
ingredients, and how to intricately tie
night and I was running crazy in the
them into Southern food.
kitchen when it hit me, this is what I
love to do."
After working two more years
"When I went up to Vermont for
culinary school I was like a sponge,"
McDaniel says. "I wanted to learn
at Ruby Tuesday and moving on
everything. Ten years ago in Vermont,
to Amsterdam Café, McDaniel
the community-supported agriculture
graduated from Auburn with a degree
philosophy was thriving and now it is
Above: Photo by Billy Brown — SpringHouse restaurant illuminates the night at its location at Russell Crossroads on Lake Martin.
Left: Photo by Billy Brown — Gulf shrimp with olive citrus salad showcases Executive Chef Rob McDaniel's use of local and seasonal ingredients.
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S hor el i ne s | 2013 Vol:3
