Chef La’Davione was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. His first job in the culinary world was as a pizza cook in 2015 at Monza Pizza in Charleston. “That’s where I began to find my passion for creativity. It wasn’t much but pizzas, but it allowed me to see the fun side of cooking,” he reminisces.
La’Davione graduated from the Art Institute of Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in culinary business management. For five years prior to joining the APCS team, Chef La’Davione worked for the Indigo Road Hospitality Group, starting out at the Macintosh in Charleston, working under Chef Jeremiah Bacon and Chef Jacob Huder. “Chef Bacon has always been a great teacher to me,” La’Davione shares. “He’s someone I call anytime have a question or an idea about cuisine.”
In 2018, Chef La’Davione moved to Atlanta and began working at Oak Steakhouse in Avalon, being promoted to sous chef within a few months.
Chef Harley Hazel was one of the most influential mentors for La’Davione. “He taught me a lot of things that I still use today,” La’Davione explains. “Patience, expanding my thoughts more, and just overall the love of what I do. But I have been inspired in some way by all the chefs I have worked with. I take a little piece of knowledge from each of them.”
Chef La’Davione likes to cook just about anything, but his family loves it when he makes spaghetti from scratch, barbecue ribs, or shrimp and grits. While his specialty is southern cuisine, his style of cooking at home can be described as “winging it.” His favorite foods to eat are wings, sushi, and chocolate chip cookies. He and his wife love the brunch at Toast on Lennox.
La’Davione is a married father of two, with a nine-year-old son Aidex, and a two-year-old daughter Harper. They also have a very active pit bull, Jinx. La’Davione and his family love traveling and trying new restaurants. In his free time, La’Davione likes to hang out with his family, work out, play video games, and watch whatever show he is binge-watching at the time.