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David Murray wears a baker’s dozen worth of hats: chef, teacher, director, husband, dad, community educator, and more. He might have graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, but he won’t be chasing Michelin stars anytime soon. He’s got “too much grass to cut, and a kid and wife I want to see,” he joked. Lucky for us, Murray's apron strings are firmly tied to Caroline County, where he pulls off all these titles with humor, humility, and a little (J.O.) spice.
Murray said he’d love to take credit for his family first deciding to move to Caroline County, but that wouldn’t be exactly true, since he was only in fourth grade at the time. “I'm sure I didn't have much of a say either way,” he said. Still, he is an Eastern Shore guy through and through, as evidenced by his favorite dish: steamed crabs. “I always come back to steamed crabs and that whole experience…Sometimes this meal can last for hours; it’s typically around a table with good company and good stories,” he reminisced, “the aroma in the car when you pick them up, the smell on your hands two hours after you’re done eating them. I just have a lot of memories attached.”
Murray proudly graduated from North Caroline High School in 2007. During his years at NCHS, he participated in the Caroline Career and Technology Centers’ Culinary Arts program. He went off to the CIA in 2013 (that’s the Culinary Institute of America, not the federal intelligence agency). “Working in a restaurant while attending class allowed me to put the things I was learning right into practice. It was an immersive junior and senior year,” he said. That experience made it clear – he wanted to own a restaurant. (Spoiler Alert: he doesn’t, but he likes it that way.)
Today, Murray serves as the Director at Chesapeake Culinary Center and Shore Gourmet, a role he describes as overseeing “all facets of our facility.”
“I get to look at the big picture of all the great things we're doing in that building and work to make them as cohesive and impactful as possible,” he says. As you can tell by now, he’s less concerned with fine dining and more interested in feeding the community – literally and metaphorically.
From cooking demos to senior center visits to youth education and job training, Murray and his team use food as a vessel for change. “Food Connects Everyone,” he says. “We all eat and associate a lot of feelings with our meals. What we eat, who we eat with, and even who we cook with are all important components of this.”
His work often focuses on fighting food insecurity and teaching healthy habits. “Food insecurity is an issue on the shore that can't be ignored,” he said, “and we work with our community partners as often as possible, helping people with the tools they need to live a happy and healthy life.” He also spends a lot of time at events, senior centers, schools, and anywhere else he can find a group of people willing to listen to a seminar on preparing Blue Catfish or fiscally responsible meal planning.
“I think a lot of people think that I just go to work and cook,” he says. “There is a lot of office work, planning, meeting, managing, and problem solving involved in a normal day. I absolutely love my job.”
Despite the joy his position brings him, Murray is happiest with his wife Jackie and their son Flynn, whom he calls “the coolest, sweetest, and smartest four-year-old I've ever met.”
“All three of us love restaurants, travelling, and most people who know us are well aware of our little Disney problem,” he quipped. He met Jackie at a catering event when she was a new CCPS teacher moonlighting as a server. They’ll celebrate 10 years of marriage next November.
Flynn, meanwhile, is following in his dad’s footsteps… sort of. They each share a desire to lend a helping hand and indulge in life’s simple pleasures, “He has one of those kitchen stools that he slides over to the counter when he wants to join in…But if you're not careful and drive past a McDonald's, there's no way we're getting home without a Happy Meal. All things in moderation,” Murray said.
As for his next adventure, Murray shared that he has “no desire to work in a restaurant at this point in my life.” He’s more focused on what’s already growing in Caroline County—including his grass.
