725 East 3rd Avenue
New Smyrna Beach,
FL 32169 (386) 424-0161

• Home
• Menu
• Events
• Chefs Corner
• Contact Us

Gallery

Chef's Corner

Chef Erik is the Executive Chef of Flip Flops Grill & Chill. He creates the delicious dishes for you every night. Chef Erik started his career as a chef at New Smyrna Beach High School, where he excelled in the culinary program. He was awarded the honor of top student chef in Volusia County. After enjoying success at an early stage of his career, he decided to take his cooking talents a little further. He enrolled and graduated from Johnson & Wales University College of Culinary Arts.

Chef Erik's next venture was to work under one of his mentors, Chef Marzo, for 4 years, perfecting his techniques. Chef Marzo left that kitchen which allowed Chef Erik to replace him as the Executive Chef.

Good talent is easy to spot. Chef Erik was given an opportunity to take over a restaurant & create his own menu. Chef Erik insisted on taking his friend and right hand man, Danny Veltri. You may remember Danny as Hell's Kitchen Season 5 winner.

Chef Erik strives to create unique flavors for you. He takes different flavor combinations & fuses them together & creates fabulous, palette pleasing foods. His background is Classical Italian & Asian Fusion cooking. Both techniques are known for taking ingredients that are local and combining them to create masterful dishes that melt in your mouth. At Flip Flops they call it Floribbean, which blends parts of Floridian with Caribbean. Once you taste these incredible entrees, they will forever be on your mind. Chef Erik's inspirations are, “My wife, brother & children, without question. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.” Chef Erik's brother, Albert, is the friendly face you see in the front of Flip Flops. “My brother, Albert, makes things run so smooth, that it makes my job so much easier.” Chef Erik & Albert, together, make your experience at Flip Flops a true dining experience.