Dean James Max is true third generation 'foodie'. His grandfather, a chef at an upstate New York resort went on to open and operate a quaint bed and breakfast in Cape May. His father grew up on a farm in New Jersey and started his own farm on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Max recalls tending his own pepper patch as a small child and enjoying the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay.

The family later relocated from Virginia to Stuart, Florida, where Dean enrolled in Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing, with minor in Hotel and Restaurant Management. A season in Italy - 'making his bones' in the cooking business and enrolled at the Florence Study Center - confirmed Dean's love for food, particularly when it is prepared naturally. He returned to the United States with new skills, new recipes and a renewed commitment to cooking.

Furthering his career, Dean went on to hold positions with Brasserie Savoy located in San Francisco's Savoy Hotel, the Ritz Carlton Dining Room in Pentagon City, VA and Gerard's Place in downtown Washington, D.C. as well as the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta, GA.

By now a seasoned chef, Max's next endeavor was an executive chef and part owner of Atlanta's popular Mumbo Jumbo Restaurant. His culinary star clearly on the ascent, Dean was beckoned back to the West Coast where he was named executive chef of the Woodside in Brentwood, one of Southern California's most popular restaurants.

It was there that Max received an offer to create and design his own restaurant and dining concept at one of the lodging giant's most prestigious properties, Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, Ft. Lauderdale. The move to Ft. Lauderdale would prove to be an auspicious homecoming for the new Max in town as he set about creating 3030 Ocean. From the interior's rolling wave motif and abstract starfish adornments to the sweeping seaside vistas that serve as the bistro's panoramic backdrop, the 3030 Ocean experience is an experience that treats the taste through all the senses.