Chef Adrienne Grenier on Florida Seafood, Farmers Markets, and Finding Her Path

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By Eric Barton | Sept. 25, 2025

AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.

Adrienne Grenier grew up in Hollywood Beach with a front yard where key limes dropped from a tree, which meant every slice of pie she’d ever eat afterward would be judged against her mother’s version. She wasn’t dreaming of becoming a chef back then—her mom worked long hours and cooked simply, and Grenier was the kid sneaking extra flavor into the family meals. But those evenings over a stovetop were the start of something, even if she didn’t yet know it.

She knows it now. Grenier is now executive chef of Burlock Coast at the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, one of the most visible kitchens in the city. She’s the one championing local fish when diners might ask for salmon flown in from somewhere else. She’s running dining series like Food Diaries, pulling in big-name Miami chefs and introducing Fort Lauderdale diners to new flavors. And she’s the one shaping the next generation of cooks, staying late to show them what’s possible when you put in the hours.

Adrienne Grenier

Grenier didn’t always see herself in this industry. She grew up watching the Food Network, but “I never quite saw myself as a TV chef,” she says. College was supposed to lead her to biology or environmental science. Then, in her last year, she made the switch to food science and nutrition—though she quickly realized she wasn’t interested in counting calories. “My grandfather preached about moderation and I just wanted to make food that tastes good,” she says.

The first real break came at 3030 Ocean, where she worked under Dean Max. It was the kind of kitchen where curiosity was rewarded, where the staff obsessed over flavors the way she did. “I loved working for him because he geeked out on food and flavors the same way I did, and until that point I hadn’t known anyone like that in real life.” That experience was enough to make her stick with it.

Tropical shrimp

Chef Adrienne Grenier Burlock Coast Fort Lauderdale octopus

Like a lot of ambitious Florida chefs, she went west for a bit. Los Angeles was a revelation. The city’s farmers markets gave her a crash course in seasonality. “Also, a peach is not just a peach! They tasted different from every farm! I tried every sample,” she says, remembering the summer afternoons spent eating her way through tomatoes and strawberries. Coming back to Florida after that, she realized how hard it was to find that kind of connection to farms, but she kept looking.

Octopus with chile romesco

Seafood platter

By the time she returned to South Florida, she was committed to building a career rooted in the flavors of her home state. That meant local seafood, no matter how hard it was to source. “I think I have to say that local fish deserves more love. A lot of people are drawn to more well-known fish from up north or elsewhere. It can be a challenge to even source local, but it is something that is important to me.”

Running a hotel restaurant comes with the kind of long days that would fry most people. Grenier admits burnout is real, but she finds energy in sharing food with others. “Teaching others and seeing their excitement to try new things is inspiration to keep going,” she says.

Green Goddess Chef Adrienne Grenier Burlock Coast Fort Lauderdale

Sun goddess Salad

Her Food Diaries series, which has brought in chefs like Giorgio Rapicavoli and Jose Mendin, has also given her a reason to keep pushing. The collaborations remind her that there’s always something to learn. “Everyone has different experiences to pull from and it’s amazing the different combinations that are truly unique to each chef,” she says.

And when she finally gets to cook for herself at home, it isn’t some showpiece dish. It’s beans and greens, or maybe just onions sizzling in a pan. “Honestly, anything I cook makes me happy,” she says. For a chef who grew up without role models in the business, she’s become one herself, showing that sometimes all it takes is the willingness to stand at the stove and just keep cooking.