Contact Us
(850) 355-9857
OurPalafox@gmail.com
We will validate parking for up to two hours for any guest purchasing an entree. App not required if you let us know within 30 minutes of your arrival.
We will validate parking for up to two hours for any guest purchasing an entree.
App not required if you let us know within 30 minutes of your arrival.
Our Chefs
Chef Daniel Watts
Chef Daniel Watts, a Pensacola native, views his career as a chef in the same way he views nature. As his culinary career proves, the more something grows, the more room is needed for growth. Daniel went from being a busser at 18 to two trips to the James Beard House in New York, NY with the Pensacola Celebrity Chefs, and five appearances on Coastal Cooking with Energy Services of Pensacola.
Chef Daniel started off as a busser at Lou Michaels Downtown. After only a few months, he went after a kitchen position and thus began his culinary career under Executive Chef Dan Dunn (Dano). He's always had a deep love of delicious food and a strong drive to travel. He attended culinary school at Johnson and Wales in Miami then headed for New York City. He accepted a cooking position at China Grill until Pensacola called him home.
Upon his return, Chef Daniel started working as Sous Chef of Jubilee on Pensacola Beach, under his longtime friend and mentor, Chef Dan Dunn. After Dano moved on, Daniel grew to Executive Chef, but when Hurricane Ivan devastated much of Pensacola Beach, he had to move on. Daniel headed to Mariposa, CA where he became Executive Chef at the Yosemite Bug Lodge Resort and Hostel. Here, he was introduced to “California Cuisine,” a much more localized, healthy, and fresh cooking style. When summer ended, Daniel returned to the lifestyle he knows best.
Back home again, Chef Daniel started at Nosh, a new restaurant opening at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze. His experience with “California Cuisine” helped guide him as he wrote the dietary restrictive menus for rehabilitating athletes. When Chef Dano presented Daniel with the opportunity to be his Sous Chef at the Hilton on Pensacola Beach, he couldn't pass it up.
A couple of years later, Chef Daniel grew to open the kitchen at Riptides, a new restaurant at the Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach. He moved onto The Wine Bar on Palafox where he was promoted to Executive Chef and began a 5 year adventure in wine, cheese and growing a young restaurant into a thriving establishment. During this time, he appeared on Coastal Cooking with Energy Services of Pensacola five times. On two separate occasions, Chef Daniel had the honor and life changing experience of joining the Pensacola Celebrity Chefs at the James Beard House in New York, NY. In 2016, he joined the culinary team of Classic City Catering, immersing himself in the catering world, which he grew to love. Chef Daniel was soon invited to help cater the 2017 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA – an experience he will never forget. Daniel has indulged himself in the world of culinary, drinking in all he can while continuing to let his thirst for more drive him.
In 2024 Chef Daniel started his own culinary company,
Stoic Culinary LLC. His focus is on bringing awareness to the mental health challenges in the culinary industry through good food. Chef Daniel was soon approached with the development of a new concept that invigorated his passion and drive. This new great experience is Our Palafox, where we’re honored he will continue his amazing culinary career.
Chef Charlie Ayers
Chef Charlie Ayers is most widely known as the first and former executive chef for Google Inc., a position he won in November of 1999 in a cook-off, judged by the company's then 40 employees. He lives by the creed "eat, drink, and be merry." For the past 25 years, Chef Charlie has spread his faith as a working chef, zealously providing eclectic and unique gourmet food and drink in an ambiance of music and fun.
In his six years at Google, Chef Charlie's contribution to the company attracted media attention around the world. He and his cafes were featured in the New York Times, London Times, Restaurant Hospitality, France's Le Capital, the Washington Post, Food Management, The Economic Times, Restaurants, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Institutions, The Times, The Food Network, Forbes, and many others, as well as occupying an entire chapter ("Charlie's Place") in David Vise's book, The Google Story. By the time he left Google, Chef Charlie and his team of five sous chefs and 150 employees in 10 cafes across the company's Mountain View, California, headquarters were serving 4,000 lunches and dinners daily-all of the same quality and variety as in that initial interview.
Chef Charlie left Google in 2006 to open Palo Alto's beloved Calafia Café and Market A Go Go downtown. His concept demonstrated that "being green" is good for the consumer, team members, the environment, and your local community. Like the "fine food for the fast crowd" Chef Charlie refined at Google, the fundamental goal of Calafia Cafe & Market a Go Go was to provide the greater public with healthful, artisan-style, sustainable cuisine in a fast and affordable format. In 2008, he published his cookbook, Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google.
While at Google, Chef Charlie established a new standard of "fine food for the fast crowd," and gained a reputation for innovative, flavorful, and healthy foods that are not only good for you, but for our planet. His unique operation was visited by such culinary luminaries as Cat Cora, Mario Batali, Martin Yan, Bruce Aidell, Bradley Ogden, and Michael Chiarello.
Chef Charlie went on to nourish many innovators of Silicon Valley and the high-tech world, including, but not limited to: Facebook, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Palantir, Zazzle, Ning, and Chowbotics. He has had the pleasure of cooking for such dignitaries as Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Sultan of Brunei, Queen Noor of Jordan, Robin Williams, Steve Jobs, Bono and The Edge, ColdPlay and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Chef Charlie began his professional career working for Hilton Hotels in New Jersey, at the Meadowlands and Parsippany locations, eventually leaving to attend culinary school in Providence, Rhode Island, at Johnson & Wales University. Chef Charlie then worked at several well-known restaurants in the Providence and Boston areas; however, his burning desire to learn, travel, and taste new flavors prompted him to leave New England behind and head out west.
It was in California where Chef Charlie's love of music and food came together. Shortly after arriving, he struck up a friendship with Chez Ray, the chef for The Grateful Dead. Charlie gladly helped feed the band and crew in exchange for admission to shows, and ultimately took over catering for the band after Jerry Garcia's unfortunate death. Continuing to indulge his two loves for music and food, Chef Charlie was frequently found backstage and in green rooms, catering gigs for some of the biggest acts Bill Graham Presents brought to San Francisco. He has often been part of the team of local celebrity chefs providing intimate backstage catering for large open-air music festivals.
In 2020, Chef Charlie moved to Pensacola to be close to his dad. Pensacola has always been his second home, as he spent many summers here growing up with his large Pensacola family. Chef Charlie continues to consult businesses and create innovative, healthy and delicious foods that are good for your body and our environment. It is with that same vision in mind that we welcomed him as consulting chef for Our Palafox in 2024.