Our Story
We didn't take the traditional path.
None of us went to culinary school. We learned in professional kitchens — working the line, perfecting techniques, understanding what guests actually want.
Since 2018, we've cooked over 2,500 private dining experiences on Florida's Emerald Coast. We've been named Best Chef on the Emerald Coast two years running. And we've earned 650+ five-star reviews — more than any other private chef service on 30A.
We don't have fancy diplomas to hang on the wall. But we have something better: a track record of making every celebration dinner unforgettable.
Every meal is made from scratch. Every ingredient is chosen with care. Every moment is designed to bring people together.
How Marrow began
In 2018, Chef Richard McCord and Chef Ryan McNay partnered with a simple goal: provide exquisite food in the most relaxed atmosphere there is — your beach vacation rental home.
After years of working in catering operations and restaurants throughout South Walton, we knew there was a better way to celebrate life's biggest moments. No crowded dining rooms. No reservations stress. No cleanup. Just restaurant-quality food, served in the privacy of your vacation home, prepared by chefs who genuinely care.
We thought about many different names before landing on Marrow. The word has three meanings, and each one represents who we are:
1. Rich and nutritious food 2. Strength and vitality 3. The inmost or essential part
We felt this was the perfect representation of the level of service we intended to provide — and still do, over 2,500 events later.
The team behind the food
Richard McCord
Richard began his cooking career right here in Santa Rosa Beach at the age of 25. His roommate was running a restaurant kitchen, found himself short-staffed one weekend, and asked Richard if he could come in and help out. Richard walked into the kitchen that evening and never left.
After brief stints at several local establishments, Richard joined one of the largest catering operations in town, where he eventually rose to Executive Chef. Following a couple of years devoted to large-scale catering, Richard decided he was ready to do a little less volume and focus more on the artistry of the culinary world.
In 2018, he teamed up with local friend and fellow chef Ryan McNay to found Marrow Private Chefs — focusing on restaurant-quality meals and experiences in an in-home environment, while always striving to innovate dishes and flavors that combine the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico with the recipes and food traditions of the American South.
Ryan McNay
A South Walton native with a chef dad and a restaurant manager mom, Ryan spent his formative years in and around restaurants. He began working for a family-owned catering company at 10 years old.
He spent his teens and twenties in dozens of different restaurant kitchens in South Walton, Gainesville, Southern California, South Dakota, and South Florida — learning and working every station he could. Early in his career, he had the privilege of working with Certified Master Chef Jack Shoop and training under his mentor, Chef Todd Meisner, formerly one of the chef-owners of Stinky's Fish Camp in Santa Rosa Beach. Ryan also worked at notable local establishments including Cafe 30A, Vin'tij Wine Boutique, and Bud and Alley's.
In his early thirties, Ryan returned to the catering world that had been his introduction to cooking 20 years earlier, where he met Richard McCord. The two quickly became close friends, bonding over their shared appreciation for culinary skill and work ethic — which eventually led to founding Marrow together.
Having grown up in South Walton, Ryan's style of cuisine is heavily influenced by coastal ingredients and tastes, but his roots in a large Southern family bring all manner of Southern tradition and flavor to his approach to cooking.
Chris Mongogna
Chris grew up in Kenner, Louisiana — right outside of New Orleans — and started cooking for his family for fun early on. He didn't turn pro until the age of 34, when he traded in his plumber's uniform for a chef coat and went to work for a New Orleans restaurant following Hurricane Katrina.
In 2007, the restaurant relocated to 30A, and Chris, along with his two daughters Karley and Sophia, moved here with it. He became the restaurant's pastry chef and over the next several years worked at a few different notable South Walton establishments. Chris was the opening sous chef at Emeril's Coastal Italian in Miramar Beach, where he worked directly with Celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse, who earned 2 Michelin stars in 2025 at Emeril's in New Orleans.
Chris also opened a restaurant of his own called The Marigny in Santa Rosa Beach, where he served traditional New Orleans fare. It was there that he first met Ryan McNay, who was so impressed by the food that he garnered a job as Chris's sous chef. When the time came to expand Marrow's team, Chris was the obvious choice and he joined as a co-owner in June 2021.
Chris's style of cooking is driven primarily by the Cajun and Creole flavors of New Orleans, as well as by his Italian family heritage.
Beyond the three of us, Marrow is a team. Our event chefs — Nicki, Bryan, and Frank — lead most of the dinners you’ll book, each with their own style and their own following. Crystal and Debbie anchor the coordination and service side. And behind them is a trusted network of servers, bartenders, and cooks we’ve worked with for years across South Walton.
This isn’t a one-person operation dependent on a single chef’s availability. When you book Marrow, you’re getting a proven team with depth, reliability, and systems refined over those 2,500+ events.
We built this.
Literally.
In our early years, we operated out of a very tiny kitchen — enough to get started, but not enough to sustain the growth we were experiencing. So in 2022 we moved into a warehouse facility and built our own commercial kitchen.
And when we say "built," we mean it. The three of us designed the layout, cut all the concrete, did all the painting, and constructed a 12-seat chef's bar and wet bar inside the space. Outside of technical electrical and plumbing work, we built the entire facility ourselves.
Why does this matter? Because it's who we are. We're not chefs who delegate and disappear. We're builders, problem-solvers, and people who do the work with our own hands. The same care we put into cutting that concrete goes into every dish we plate for your celebration.
2,500 events and counting
What others say about us
- Best Chef on the Emerald Coast — 2023 & 2024 (Emerald Coast Magazine Readers' Choice)
- Best On-Site Catering — 2023 & 2024 (Emerald Coast Magazine Readers' Choice)
- Small Business of the Year — 2024 (Walton Area Chamber of Commerce)
- Southern Bride Magazine — Summer 2025 issue (luxury weddings on 30A)
- IBB At Home Magazine — Summer 2024 issue
read the reviews →“We’ve been using Marrow for years. I have never had a bad meal with them.”
Bradley W. — September '25
Why we do this
We believe food should bring people together. And every meal should be a memory worth keeping.
Our menus are driven by Gulf ingredients and Southern tradition, with influences from New Orleans, coastal Florida, and the places we've cooked and lived. We source locally whenever possible — because fresh Gulf seafood caught within miles of where you're staying simply tastes better.
We don't cut corners. Every dish is made from scratch. Every ingredient is chosen with care. Every detail — from the first bite to the final cleanup — is handled so you can focus entirely on your guests and the moment you're celebrating.
This is why we do this work: not just to cook, but to create space for connection. Whether it's a 50th birthday, a wedding rehearsal dinner, or a family reunion dinner on your last night of vacation — we want the food to be so good that it becomes part of the story you tell for years.
Ready to experience
Marrow?
Whether you’re celebrating a milestone birthday, planning a wedding rehearsal dinner, or simply want the best meal of your 30A vacation, we’d be honored to serve you.