Landen Hickman
“In this competition, I would love to faithfully represent my region through my passion for its heritage and its cuisine.”
Born and raised on Florida’s First Coast, Landen Hickman has a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Florida. He discovered his calling as a chef in a small fine-dining restaurant by the beach in Jacksonville, where his team encouraged him to create the daily specials.
His inspiration comes from home-grown produce, from his botanist grandfather and from a childhood spent fishing, foraging and on the water. He is passionate about the heritage of his region, especially the Minorcan legacy of St. Augustine, and champions a fine cuisine that is not built on luxury but on revealing the value of humble ingredients, local knowledge and shared memory.
For Landen, gastronomy is a way to express himself on a plate and to feed the people he loves. He sees sustainable, locally sourced cooking as something invaluable to the community.