Takoma Park native Danny Wells knows a thing or two about fish. As chef de cuisine in restaurant owner Jeff Black’s new Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, Wells has earned his place in this fish-oriented kitchen: he has worked at Black’s high-end seafood restaurant, BlackSalt, in D.C. for several years. “I opened there as sous chef for three years,” said Wells of his time at BlackSalt. “Then I worked as chef de cuisine until 2010, when I took a break and moved to New York to cook at the Mandarin Oriental hotel’s restaurant Asiate.” But Wells knew that the Pearl Dive project was coming together, and returned to D.C. to be onsite for concept and construction meetings to execute the menus for the opening.

Wells grew up in a household where good, home-made food was valued. As he notes, his mother and paternal grandmother were really good cooks. “We had no frozen foods and rarely ate canned vegetables,” he explained. “There was always an appreciation for good ingredients.”