By Miriam Cook
Chef Ava Evans has a passion for food that began in her mother’s kitchen as a young girl in North Carolina. From that point, her culinary skills have expanded to include robust flavors, fine dining and classic low country cuisine.
A wounded warrior, Chef Ava decided to pursue her passion and completely change her career direction. Upon retirement from active duty service as a logistician with the U.S. Army Special Operations, she enrolled into the Chef’s Academy in North Carolina to further her pursuit in Culinary Arts. Her culinary skills have landed her numerous catering and private event opportunities, including personal chef to multiple players from the NBA Charlotte Hornets.
Chef Ava opened Ava’s Lowcountry Cuisine during the pandemic. With support from locals and increased support for black-owned restaurants, she is kicking off the fall season with a robust new fall menu that celebrates authentic Lowcountry Cuisine from North Carolina.
“As a new restaurant that opened up in the midst of the pandemic, it has been a challenge to keep our doors open. Especially since we did not qualify for many of the financial relief options provided by the government. While it’s a challenge, we really want to help Tampa Bay Area residents enjoy Lowcountry Cuisine close to home.”
The new Eatery located off of State Road 54 in Lutz, and provides a culinary experience for residents to experience Lowcountry Cuisine in the Tampa Bay Area. Offering classic dishes like Shrimp & Grits, Seafood Boil, Short Ribs, Three-Cheese Mac and more, there’s enough variety to please the most distinguished taste buds. You can also order delicious desserts like Banana Foster Cobbler, Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake or Chef Ava’s Very Berry Cobbler with White Chocolate Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream.
The restaurant offers carryout, outdoor dining and 3rd party delivery services and will soon offer dine-in option in late October. For now Ava’s Lowcountry Cuisine is offering Fall Meal Bundles & Family meal options for those wanting to get a wide taste of Lowcountry Cuisine in one sitting.
“We provide a variety of services for clients such as catering, private chef services for parties as small as one person and up to 500 or more. We also host virtual cooking lessons, meal preps, vacation chef services and more,” Chef Ava said. “Best of all, our meals are prepared fresh, from scratch by highly skilled chefs and cooks. We source the highest quality produce, proteins and other locally grown goods, showcasing the best of Tampa and Florida.”
Chef Ava shows appreciation for military, health care professionals, other first-responders and teachers with discounts and special offers year-round. Chef Ava is open on Friday & Saturday for indoor dining from 5pm – 10pm and for breakfast & brunch from 8am – 1pm on Saturday and Sunday.
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Ava’s Lowcountry Cuisine is located at 112 Flagship Drive in Lutz. For more information and hours,
please call (813) 702-3813 or visit www.avascuisine.com.
