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Robert St. John (October 2, 1961 – Present) is an American author (10 books), Restauranteur|Author|Columnist (Big Tomato LL) and journalist (AP, etc.).

Biography
Chef, Author, Restaurateur & World-Class Eater Robert St. John has spent more than three decades in the restaurant business. Twenty-seven of those years have been as the owner, CEO and chef of the Purple Parrot Café, Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Branch, and Tabella in Hattiesburg, MS.

St. John is a restaurateur, chef, columnist, and author. For 14 years he has written a weekly syndicated food column for newspapers. The Purple Parrot Café was named the best fine dining restaurant in Mississippi and just received its sixth Four-Diamond rating from the AAA Travel Guide. Additionally, in 2011, AAA named Purple Parrot Café the second-best fine-dining restaurant in the South (just behind Commander’s Palace). Furthermore, The Mahogany Bar was named as one of America’s Top 100 Beer Bars of 2014 by Draft magazine, Branch was listed as one of Southern Living magazines “The South’s Top 100 Bars,” and in 2013 Tabella was named “Best Italian Restaurant in Mississippi” by Mississippi magazine. St. John has been named the state’s top chef three consecutive years and was honored as Mississippi Restaurateur of the Year. He has served on the board of directors of several agencies, organizations and charities. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.

St. John is the author of nine books, including three collaborations with renowned watercolorist Wyatt Waters. His newest book, An Italian Palate, released in the fall of 2013, was written in Europe while he, his wife, and his two children traveled through 17 countries on two continents for six months. St. John has been featured in USA TODAY and appeared on The Food Network, The Travel Channel, National Public Radio, Martha Stewart Living, and the Turner South network. In 2009, St. John founded Extra Table, a non-profit organization that purchases healthy foods and ships them to soup kitchens and mission pantries. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Extra Table.