S

ince opening to hungry diners in the Destin area in 2014, 

Jackacudas Seafood and Sushi has offered a culinary mash-up 

of fun dishes that seem a perfect echo of its odd name, a hybrid 

“species” of fish conjured up by a famous local fisherman in the 

late 80’s whose intended day of catching amberjack yielded nothing 

but a boatload of barracuda. Not that the two founding owners are 

what you might call ordinary, either. So when they initially created the 

concept at Jackacudas, longtime locals and high-school friends Tyler 

Jarvis and Chris Ruyan knew that they needed a chef whose creativity 

matched their own and whose culinary skills would keep the restaurant 

at the very top of its game. They found their perfect catch with Jarvis 

Jones, a local boy whose greatest inspiration in the kitchen came from 

watching his mother and whose natural talent was sharpened under the 

watchful eye of some of the best chefs along the Gulf Coast. 

Over the past six years, Chef Jarvis has learned greater cooking 

technique and deepened his experience in exploring flavor profiles, 

to be sure. But he’s also further cultivated his passion for food; and 

he’s brought that fiery passion to play in the kitchen at Jackacudas, 

where he creates masterpieces that combine a few old-school standbys 

with some interesting twists that could seem somewhat irreverent, 

were they not so successful in their balance of flavors. Using only the 

freshest ingredients from local purveyors and sourcing seafood from 

fishermen using a tracking system that not only offers up the waters 

where the fish were caught, but also the name of the captains manning 

the boats, Chef Jarvis and his team at Jackacudas are dedicated to 

offering nothing but the best, and the dishes that he creates with his 

menu have gained the restaurant quite a following, casting a wide net 

to bring in sushi lovers, seafood fanatics, and even diners whose palates 

crave something more on the meaty side. 

Chef Jarvis’s talents are in high display on every plate; but so too, 

are they when it comes time to throw down, and in a recent cook-off at 

Harbor Walk’s Blues, Brews, and BBQ’s festival, the talented culinary 

mastermind masterfully won top prize in the barbecue competition, 

reeling in the win with his BBQ Pulled Pork Monte Cristo. One taste 

Jacked Up 

of this sandwich loaded up with tender pulled pork layered with melted Gruyere cheese 

and fried to crunchy, buttery golden perfection and served with house-made Tri-berry 

Jam, and it’s little wonder that Chef Jarvis’s double-fister had a firm grasp on taking the 

prize. 

It’s dishes such as these that make Chef Jarvis such an asset to the restaurant; and 

fortunately for him, his imagination is allowed to flow. “Chris and Tyler give me all the 

creativity in the world while I’m working on the menu, and I love that freedom,” Chef 

Jarvis says. “Of course, we have our staples that everyone in the area is looking for; but 

I’m really given a lot of room to play and have fun with it.”

Open 11:00am-10:00pm, Monday-Thursday; 11:00am-11:00pm, Friday-Sunday. 

Jackacudas Seafood and Sushi is located at 56 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL 32541.

For more info, call (850) 424-3507 or visit www.jackacudas.com.

story by

 Leisel Schmidt

in the Kitchen

Chef  Profile 

March 2017  |   43 

43 Chef Profile.indd   1

2/23/17   3:25 PM