A local legend in the sustainable food community, Chef Davin Waite is a classically trained sushi chef who thrives on pushing boundaries with creative uses for ingredients that deliver exciting flavors while minimizing food waste and celebrating local proteins and produce. Davin co-owns and oversees culinary operations at Oceanside restaurants Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub — beloved for its innovative omakase and dry-aging program — plant-based The Plot, which will sprout new locations in 2023, local seafood concept Shoots Fish x Beer, and most recently Brine Box, a sustainable seafood joint situated at the end of the iconic Oceanside Pier where Davin oversees culinary operations.

With each new project, Davin creates a dining ethos in his own image; scrappy, irreverent and constantly pushing boundaries. He aims to stay in a state of consistent innovation and creation
in order to inspire and is often teaching sustainable cooking techniques to elementary students, culinary students and city officials. Davin has collaborated on grants with Scripps Institute of Oceanography and NOAA Fisheries in an effort to popularize sustainable cooking techniques,
turning bycatch and less utilized cuts into marketable dishes. He was recently bestowed the 2022 Sustainability Advocate Award by the California Travel Association, the only chef to receive the honor.

Davin’s menus reflect his mission and core values as he continues to evolve as a chef and as an advocate.