Eat Alabama Seafood

Name: David Bancroft Name of Restaurant: Acre Restaurant Phone Number: (334) 246-3763

Where were you born and raised? Born in Mobile, Alabama and raised in San Antonio, Texas. What inspired you to become a chef? Some of my most favorite memories are those gathered around big family dinner tables during the holidays. I loved sneaking in the kitchen and sneaking bites behind my grandmothers while they prepared supper. Where did you train to become a chef? I am self-taught. I mostly trained by watching my grandmothers or my Melma in the kitchen. The rest I learned in the woods or on the water. What others jobs, if any, have you worked within the food industry? I worked every position on the hot line and spent a little time waiting tables so that I could learn confidence in the front of the house. Now that I have a restaurant, I wash dishes more than I get to cook. Who is the most notable person you’ve ever cooked for? You would expect me to say a top chef like David Chang, or Lance Armstrong, or Tim Cook, or the “Beaver,” but I’m gonna have to go with my heart, and my heart says Bo Jackson. Well now, Jason Dufner invited me to cook his PGA Championship supper for all the recent PGA champs a few years ago, and that was pretty awesome. John Daly wore a white tiger striped jacket. His jacket was inspiring! If you could cook for with any celebrity of historical figure (living or dead), who would it be? Probably Jacques Pepin or Escoffier if it were a chef. It would be awesome to cook with an ancient relative to see what they were cooking and what their focus was back then. If you weren’t a chef, what line of work would you pursue? If I had the option it would’ve been baseball for sure. But, being realistic, probably would’ve aimed towards hospital administration like my father. If you won the lottery, how would you spend your winnings? Sell everything, buy a boat, and move my family to an island so we could get away from this mess. What’s your favorite seafood dish to serve up for yourself and your family? Every year our family plans a trip to Grayton Beach. I like to take the kids out to the bayou with flashlights to hunt for blue crab. After a whole morning of steaming, cracking, and plucking I have just enough to make one special meal for everyone. Last year, I made crab cakes. The year before, I had just returned from an off-shore trip and so I topped a bunch of triggerfish with piles of crabmeat. What makes Alabama Gulf Seafood special? For many of us, the nostalgic memories from the Gulf Coast provide a lifelong connection to the white sandy beaches and the bountiful resources from the sea.