Tim Norwood is on a mission—a mission to bring a little bit of Florida flavor to every bowl and plate in town. Operating out of Bradenton, Norwood and his fledgling company, Sea Salt Florida, are making the most out of our beautiful beaches and pristine waters, harvesting salt straight from the ocean and capturing each locale’s singular flavor profile for a series of gourmet sea salts that take “local flavor” to its literal end.

Harvesting seawater from select beaches on Siesta, Lido, St. Armands, Longboat and Anna Maria islands, each place has its own distinct taste, largely due to mineral variation, and this is what Norwood hopes to capture, with each product labeled according to where the salt was harvested. “Like a bottle of wine,” said Norwood. “If it’s made in Bordeaux, it’s going to say Bordeaux on the bottle.”

Formerly an engineer by trade, Norwood took inspiration from a trip to the Pacific Northwest, where local vendors sold local salt. “Before I knew it, I was developing my own equipment and my own method,” said Norwood. Accordingly, his process reflects the engineer mindset—carefully calibrated, tested and tech-friendly. Not only harvesting at select locations, Norwood draws water at specific points in the tide to achieve the desired salinity. Then it’s home, to a series of custom-made apparatus that filter and condense the water, before separating the crystals. “It’s all a lot of temperatures and timing,” said Norwood.

After a year studying the craft, he opened Sea Salt Florida just weeks ago. “People are embracing me and what I’m doing,” said Norwood, who has expanded his enterprise beyond simple sea salt, crafting gourmet creations such as Whiskey Barrelwood Smoked Portabella Mushroom Longboat Key Sea Salt and the already popular infusions, including Pinot Noir Sea Salt, and even exfoliants (non-edible). By this time next year, Norwood hopes to expand to 25 employees and take Sea Salt Florida national.

“I feel like I’m creating something this community can be proud of,” said Norwood, “because it’s going to be ours.” 

Pictured: Tim Norwood harvesting seawater. Courtesy of: Tim Norwood and Tripod Photography

Chef Shane Dabney of Marina Jack is preparing for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, beginning with one of the largest Thanksgiving celebrations in Sarasota. As his culinary team prepares turkeys to fill the plates of 450 Thanksgiving dinners next Thursday, the kitchen also prepares for a regular dinner service of their extensive menu. A longstanding tradition of Sarasota residents and their families, the waterfront holiday dinner is a special way to give thanks. “We usually see 800 reservations on Thanksgiving day. Our first seating is at 11:15 in the morning and we have tables all day and into the evening,” said Chef Dabney. “Everything is scratch-made, the turkey, herb sausage stuffing and all of the sides. The full menus for The Dining Room, the patio and the Deep Six Lounge are offered all day, so if you’re not into turkey, we still have options. But we usually serve up 25 cases of turkeys.” Reservations are available on Thanksgiving Day by calling Marina Jack.

“One of our busiest nights of the year is always the night of the Holiday Boat Parade,” In a few short weeks, Marina Jack will fill nearly every table in at its prime location to view the glittering boats passing by. To celebrate this yearly tradition, Chef Dabney has prepared a gourmet three-tier prixe fixe menu of some of his favorite dishes. “There’s really something for everyone on the menu,” he said of the meals that will be available on Saturday, December 12 for guests watching the parade. “We will serve some really nice salmon, a pepper crusted prime rib, filet mignon, Chilean sea bass, an elegant grouper dish and of course we’ll have a surf and turf option or twin lobster tails.” Each tier of the special menu comes with an appetizer, soup or salad and dessert. “This is one of our busiest nights of the year, on par with New Year’s Eve and the fourth of July and we really look forward to seeing our customers that have made this a family tradition return year after year,” said Dabney.

Following a similar suit of the December 12special menu, New Year’s Eve is a special night. Overlooking the brilliant fireworks along the bay, tables are Marina Jack will have various fine dining options. “We aim to have every plate set for dinner service by 11:30 pm so that when the fireworks begin, they’re the star of the night and everyone can enjoy them without interruption.” Those looking for an outdoor venue to watch the fireworks can order from the regular menu of food and drinks at the Blue Sunshine patio along the marina. “It is a really fun place to watch the show,” said Dabney.

Regardless if diners are looking for a way to celebrate the holiday, or to make any night of the week a special evening with one of the most iconic views of Sarasota, Chef Dabney and his team will be happy to see you. To make reservations for the holidays, call Marina Jack for seating availability, 941-365-4232.  

Marina Jack is a member of Nosh, the SRQ Magazine content marketing program for local restaurants. 

Marina Jack | 2 Marina Plaza | 941-365-4232 | MarinaJacks.com 

Manatee Memorial Hospital announced it has been recognized as a 2014 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States.Manatee Memorial Hospital was recognized as part of The Joint Commission’s 2015 annual report “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety” for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, stroke and perinatal care.  

Manatee Memorial Hospital

ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance and Design announces the promotion of Pedro Mares to account executive for ArtisTree’s Central Division, bringing more than 30 years of customer service and landscape maintenance experience to serve the firm’s growing number of accounts. The company also hired Amy Crutcher as an assistant landscape designer to support expanding business with Southwest Florida luxury builders.  

ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance and Design

Booker Middle School English teacher Donna Heath has received the 2015 Beginning Teacher of the Year award from the Florida Council of Teachers of English. Heath is the third Booker Middle teacher to win the award from FCTE; Joanna Fox and Christopher Pauling were honored in previous years. Heath began working for the Sarasota County School District in 2003 as a media specialist. When these positions were eliminated by the district in 2013, Heath made a decision to become a teacher. 

Sarasota County School District