Tim Creehan FRLA 2015 Restaurateur of the Year, Cuvee captures Destin's only 2015 Golden Spoon Award

DESTIN, Fla. - Dec. 18, 2015 - PRLog -- The Emerald Coast's celebrity chef Tim Creehan has been awarded the 2015 Restaurateur of the Year award by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and Creehan's Cuvee Destin once again finds itself the sole recipient of the prestigious 2015 Golden Spoon Award in Destin, Florida.

The 2015 Restaurateur of the Year recognition came as a surprise to the culinarian entrepreneur during a recent event by the FRLA's Northwest Florida chapter in Destin.  "I was stunned," Creehan muses.  "We just opened a second location at 30Avenue called Cuvee 30A, and this is an amazing honor from the premier organization for our industry in Florida.  Coupled with the Golden Spoon Award, it's like Christmas came early this year."

Creehan's casual fine dining staple Cuvee Destin has now been honored with a total of six consecutive Golden Spoon Awards from Florida Trend Magazine, often being the lone recipient in Destin,  Restaurants in Walton County's Miramar Beach and Sandestin often cite their location as being in Okaloosa County's Destin to captialize on the city's national name recognition, but Cuvee is nonetheless the only Golden Spoon Award winner located within Destin's city limits.

About Golden Spoon Awards

Florida Trend’s Golden Spoons are the oldest and most coveted dining awards in the state. The magazine started the awards 40 years ago as a guide to executives traveling around the state.  The classic Golden Spoon recognizes outstanding fine dining restaurants that have demonstrated consistency in high standards and longevity, usually earned after three years in business or more.

The chief criterion is the food, made from top ingredients sourced carefully and prepared with imagination and authenticity from entrees to vegetables and breads. and a setting that is well cared for and service that is knowledgeable and enthusiastic but not intrusive.

Florida has almost 20 million people and thousands of restaurants. The awards are highly selective and include approximately 100 top restaurants, which means only a handful of establishments in many markets. They cannot include all the fine dining choices in the state; having high prices, longstanding popularity or current buzz does not guarantee a Golden Spoon.

About FRLA

FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $82 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy and more than 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks.

About Cuvee

Chef Tim Creehan reestablished Cuvee in 2010 and opened Cuvee 30A in 2015, offering classic French, Asian and Mediterranean influenced delicacies along with his signature dishes including Amy Grant’s Seared Tuna Rare and Vince Gill’s Pecan Crusted Grouper.  Cuvee has attracted an annual arsenal of awards and accolades including Tripadvisor's Certificate of Excellence and Hall of Fame, Best in Destin, Finest on the Emerald Coast, Florida Trend's Golden Spoon Award, and the Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence for 2011-2015.  More information about Cuvee can be found at http://www.CuveeDestin.com

About Tim Creehan

Often dubbed the Emerald Coast's celebrity chef, Creehan is a local business owner and media fixture whose reputation frequently lands him personal chef outings for numerous celebrities such as Amy Grant, Vince Gill, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. His recipes have been featured on Emeril Lagasse's television show, and he served as special guest Chef de Cuisine at the Sundance Film Festival, where he fed flocks of the famous at the organization's Entertainment Tonight/Getty Images/Gibson Guitar Lodge, including Matthew Broderick, Tom Arnold, Alan Rickman, John Legend, and many more.  For more information about Tim, visit http://www.TimCreehan.com