Durham Restaurant Guide

Chef Tim Lyons' passionate enthusiasm for delicious food is contagious. Watching Chef Lyons create his dishes, changing his menu in order to utilize the local seasonal ingredients, infusing skill and knowledge to produce a simple fresh plate, is an engaging process. Ingrained in Tim's heritage is an understanding that simple, comforting, homegrown food prepared at its finest, is one of the basics of health and happiness.

Chef Lyons began his culinary career apprenticing for renowned Chef Roland Gaujac of Roland's Place 1796 House, recognized by Zagat with a top ten rating in Vermont. Chef Gaujac provided Tim a strong foundation into the culinary world. Following a successful internship at Roland's, Tim took over as Sous Chef at The Storm Café, an innovative American cuisine café also on Zagat's top ten list in Vermont. This opportunity allowed Tim to begin honing his skills and setting himself apart from local chefs with his craft and unique understanding of ingredient selection and preparation techniques. Encouraged by the expanding possibilities of the art, Tim moved to California where he studied under renowned Chef Gustaf Anders, James Beard award winner and an earned top 50 U.S. rating by Zagat. Chef Lyons assumed the role of Sous Chef under the careful guidance of Chef Anders where he learned the art of refinement and began crafting his skills to match his ideas.

This fusion of craft and idea motivated a move to Key West, Florida with his wife Karen, where new products and styles could be explored by a chef who had been enthralled by simple, clean food. The keys provided him with a unique fish market to feed his enthusiasm and creativity. Tim was recruited to take over as Chef de Cuisine at the famous Louie's Backyard, which is a Top South Florida Restaurant award winner, Top 50 U.S. Zagat winner, Golden Spoon award recipient and Wine Spectator Diamond winner.