Chef Gerard MacDonna is the Head Chef and Director of The Culinary Missionary Catering company in Anguilla and the United Kingdom. He also serves as Chef at Sharky’s on Anguilla’s West End where he is in charge of the passé and expedition. Tripadvisor has consistently ranked Sharky’s the number one restaurant in Anguilla since 2019 and it is always at the top of everyone’s “best Anguilla restaurants” list.
MacDonna’s passion for the culinary arts started when he was a child at home in the kitchen in Anguilla. There he learned techniques and recipes from his chef father Oliver, while cooking alongside his brothers and being inspired watching Epicurious and Anthony Bourdain on the Travel and Food Networks.
Seeking more formal training, MacDonna earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Culinary and Hospitality Management at the University of Derby in Buxton, England. While in the UK, he honed his skills under Chef Ian Jones at the Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, and also held Head Chef positions at The Plough on the Moor in Stockpot; at Chapelwood Wilmslow, Cheshire with Olive Catering; and at former Rolling Stone photographer Nuno’s, South 16 Buxton, where MacDonna was nominated for a Rosette for exceptional use of peak district produce. His talents have also been featured in magazines and articles.
Back home in Anguilla, MacDonna worked with his father and his uncle, George, at his father’s namesake restaurant, the iconic former Oliver’s Seaside Grill on Long Bay Beach. He later joined Chef Proprietor Lowell Hodge in the kitchen at Sharky’s and launched his bespoke catering company and private chef services.
MacDonna has learned from a host of Anguilla’s best chefs and cooks for guests from around the world at upscale Altamer and other luxury Anguilla villas. Although he doesn’t have a favorite dish to create, he enjoys working with Anguilla’s, “fresh-off-the-boat and onto-the-plate seafood,” and European and Asian flavors. He also appreciates the role Anguilla’s cuisine has played in the island’s history and welcomes the opportunity to share that legacy with his clients. As he says, “I love seeing the reactions on people’s faces when they eat and enjoy my food and being able to tell a story about what I’ve prepared.”
For MacDonna, good food starts with fresh, quality ingredients because they don’t need much manipulation to shine, and the food speaks for itself. Also important to him is the ability to balance flavors to achieve that umami palate and the perfect combination of savory, sweet, acidity and texture.
Thu, May 1, 2025
Altamer, Shoal Bay West