Sanderling Resort, the Forbes Four Star and AAA Four Diamond property on the Outer Banks, NC, welcomes Chef de Cuisine John Botkin to the Lifesaving Station culinary team. The restaurant, which reopened last spring in conjunction with the property’s redesign, embraces the coastal Carolina region through its seafood-centric menu—a fitting destination for Chef Botkin and his expertise in seafood.
At Lifesaving Station, Chef Botkin will continue the restaurant’s focus on S.O.A.L. cuisine – sustainable, organic, artisanal, and local – under the aegis of Executive Chef Jeffrey Russell. Menu highlights include the welcomes Chef de Cuisine John Botkin to the Lifesaving StationGrilled Carolina Grouper with hoppin john, smokey spinach, and maque choux; Sweet Onion Crusted Flounder with ravioli, mushrooms, sweet corn, and cajun butter sauce; and Shrimp and Grits with grilled North Carolina shrimp, surry sausage, Anson Mills grits, smoked tomatoes, and mushroom.
“I’m excited to build menus around our S.O.A.L. cuisine concept,” says Botkin. “What we have down here are great producers—local farmers come to our door with ingredients, and the seafood is comparable to none.”
A native of Northern Virginia and graduate of the Culinary Institute of New England, Chef Botkin brings years of kitchen experience to Sanderling Resort. Prior to joining Lifesaving Station, he worked in a freestanding restaurant on the Outer Banks, where he began understanding the culinary value of the location. Botkin moved to Coastal Carolina after nearly twenty years of helming kitchens in Northern Virginia, Las Vegas, and St. Thomas, including Clyde’s of Tysons in Virginia, McCormick & Schmick’s, and the famed Bellagio—where he served as Executive Chef of the world-famous buffet.
Lifesaving Station is Sanderling’s casual restaurant celebrating southern coastal cuisine and regional, organic products, including regional brews and wines. Occupying the space of the former Caffey’s Inlet U.S. Lifesaving Station #5, the building is one of the original seven stations built along North Carolina’s coast when the lifesaving service was founded in 1874. The first floor housed the ships, while the second floor served as the shelter. In its new incarnation, Lifesaving Station is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner year-round.
