Matthew Medure & Matthew’s Restaurant

Matthew Medure grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and his family was in the catering profession. Young Matthew washed dishes, and when he was in the 10th grade he bought the sausage business from his father, which gave Matthew his first taste of the culinary trade. He did some cooking during high school and after graduation at age 18, he went off to culinary school. The corporate chef for the Ritz-Carlton came to his school in 1988, and Matthew was fortunate to be chosen as one of two students for an externship at their Ritz-Carlton’s Atlanta flagship, and he worked under Great Chef Gunther Seeger, who mentored him. Matthew worked there in the café and when he finished work for the day, the chef allowed him to come up to the dining room kitchen and work for free for another 8 hours. After graduating top in his class from culinary school, he returned to the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in 1990.

A year later in 1991 at the age of 21, he was selected as a member of the opening team for the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. Within a year he was promoted to Chef of the Grill and received the second 5-diamond restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton family. In 1996, the Great Chefs team arrived to tape Chef Medure for the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of the South television series. Later that same year he performed a stage with Great Chef Alain Ducasse at the Louis XV in Hotel de Paris, Monte Carlo. He was also picked as a James Beard Rising Star Chef of American Cuisine in 1996.

Soon after, in 1998 Chef Matthew Medure opened up his own restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida called “Matthew’s”, which he still calls home today, in 2016.