Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Ramirez
Jessica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Austin Sumrall, the chef owner of White Pillars has been working in restaurants for many years and has had a passion for cooking most of his life. Austin grew up on a cattle and horse ranch outside of McComb, Mississippi, and went on to graduate from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. He received classical training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and has worked for three different James Beard award winners with the title of “Best Chef: South”. Austin met his wife, Gulfport native, Tresse Young while in school at Ole Miss. While Austin was in culinary school in New York, Tresse was across the country studying to become a nurse at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Soon after their respective graduations, the couple married in October 2012, and moved to Birmingham, Alabama, for Austin to begin his career at the famed Hot and Hot Fish Club under Chef Chris Hastings. They welcomed son Ollie to the family in 2015, and began making plans to move back home to Mississippi and pursue their dream of opening their very own restaurant.
They officially opened the White Pillars in December of 2017. In 2020 he was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for “Best Chef South.” In 2021 he brought home the title of “King of American Seafood 2021.” after winning top prize in the Great American Seafood Cookoff. IN 2023, he was featured in two Food Network televised cooking competitions. He came in second on the Southern round of Chopped National tournament and brought home the winning title against Iron Chef, Alex Guarnaschelli on her show, Alex vs America.
Chef’s vision for White Pillars is to provide a meaningful and memorable culinary experience crafted with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients in a beautiful and historical setting. When not at White Pillars, the Sumrall’s spend most Saturday mornings at the farmers markets gathering produce and thinking about how to best prepare it for dinner that night.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It is not unique to us but COVID was definitely a tricky time. We found ourselves having to be very creative with generating revenue and had a goal to keep all of our 35 employees during the shutdowns which we are proud to say we were able to do.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Chef and owner of White Pillars Restaurant in Biloxi and soon to be Siren Social Club in Gulfport
Contact Info:
- Website: https://biloxiwhitepillars.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white_pillars/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/WhitePillars/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/chef_sumrall/
