Page 84 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2025

SOUTHERN ROOTS & MODERN TAKES
Coastal Mississippi Serves Up NYC
story by Cherie Ward and courtesy of Coastal Mississippi photos by RPF Media and courtesy of Coastal Mississippi
It was a Coastal Mississippi culinary takeover when Chef Alex Perry, his wife Chef Kumi Omori, and Master Cicerone David Reese rolled out their incredible culinary and brewery artisan skills in The Big Apple.
Visit Mississippi partnered with Coastal Mississippi, Visit Jackson, and Visit Oxford to host the James Beard Foundation’s Southern Roots & Modern Takes dinner in New York City earlier this year.
Perry and Omori’s incredible Coastal culinary artisan skills, coupled with Reese’s beachy brewery mastery, helped generate buzz around Coastal Mississippi’s dynamic restaurant, bar, and lounge scene, which blends time-honored traditions with innovative creativity.
“I loved meeting all these people I’ve just never had the chance to meet before,” said Reese, Owner and Brewmaster of the Fly Llama Brewery in Biloxi. “We were all in New York talking about our dishes and products and discovered we are all using Two Brooks Rice Farm. Here’s this great rice farm in Sumner that’s been providing us all rice for a while now. It was just a surreal, aha moment that means Mississippi is growing some phenomenal rice.”
Reese holds the prestigious title Master Cicerone, an accolade only a handful of people worldwide can claim, and the only one in the Magnolia State. He is one of 28 globally who have achieved the Master Cicerone status, which requires an extraordinary understanding and distinctive expertise in beer as well as an excellent ability to evaluate and describe flavor.
Reese created the Fly Llama Amber Coastal Lager that paired beautifully with a Collard Green Wellington with Wild Mushrooms, Two Brooks Farm Rice, Puff Pastry, and Potlikker created by Chef Hunter Evans, Co-Owner of Elvie’s Restaurant in Jackson.
And the best part, in March, the Amber Coastal Lager joined Fly Llama’s other draft drinks. You’ll find almost 40 beers, seltzers, and non-alcoholic drinks on tap.
“The Amber is a crisp lager that goes perfectly with our climate, and we put in a little bit of character malt so it will stand up to the fried Coastal flavors in seafood,” Reese said. “We serve it with a lime, so it has the perfect acidity for seafood.”
Perry and Omori, Chefs and Owners of Vestige in Ocean Springs, created three dishes. First was a Shitake Tartlet with Fresh Buttermilk-Koji Cheese, Black Garlic, and Shiso. Followed by
84 | May 2025
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