Just like the ocean, Tampa’s seafood community is complex, diverse and always unpredictable. On any given night the same species of fish can be cooked a dozen different ways, a reflection of the city’s growing taste buds and tastemakers. To discover some of the city’s best seafood we asked five of Tampa’s top chefs what they order when they’re not on the job – and not in their restaurant.

One of the most sought-after restaurant designers in the world, Ken Schwartz has made a living turning the abstract visions of iconic chefs into savory, fully functioning realities. Along the way his Tampa-based firm, SSA Foodservice Design + Consulting, has become the vanguard of adventurous eats, reputed as much for its dependability as its creativity.