Shaun Brian Sells: Cudaco (James Island, SC)

Shaun Brian Sells started life in a two-person tent surrounded by plantation ruins in the flats of Coral Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands. It was in that environment where his love for cooking began– by roaming and foraging through the valley, fishing off his dad’s sailboat and cooking for up to eight siblings at a time. Those challenges became the source of his inspiration. At Cudaco on James Island, SC, he brings that inspiration full circle, celebrating sustainable seafood practices and the creativity of the kitchen. Cudaco is part seafood market, part wine shop, part catering, and part casual restaurant with my favorite fried fish sandwich in town and also caviar in the cooler. Shaun’s passion is educating guests about lesser known seafood species and how to make them delicious, and since he also serves the wholesale community, his seafood shows up on some of the best Charleston tables too. Shaun was named one of Zagat’s 30 Under 30, he’s an alumnus of the James Beard Foundation’s Boot Camp for policy and change, and a former Senior Chef on the US Virgin Islands Culinary Team.