About On Water Dining
Meet Chef Clint Frenette
Trained in the Classics. Rooted in Michigan.
Chef Clint Frenette formalized his training at Le Cordon Bleu in Arizona, where he learned foundational technique, sauce structure, kitchen systems, and respect for the integrity of an ingredient. He brought all of it back to Michigan.
His cooking lives in the space between fine dining and comfort. Midwestern roots, a classical backbone. Whole animal butchery, Great Lakes fish, seasonal Michigan produce. He builds deep flavor and lets the plate stay quiet.
Before On Water Dining, he taught. As the culinary instructor at Sanilac Career Center, he led his student program to a state championship and a national competition in Washington, D.C. The Michigan Restaurant Association named him Chef Instructor of the Year in 2020 and again in 2022.
What he taught there was not only recipes. It was how to build a career in a kitchen, how to take real pride in simple food, and how to respect the people and the ingredients you work with. That is still how this kitchen runs.
How We Cook
From Scratch Means From Scratch
Everything on our menu is made here, every day. The pasta is rolled in our kitchen. The sauces are built from the bones up. Nothing arrives already finished.
We practice whole animal butchery, which means we take in the entire animal and find the right use for every part of it. That shapes the menu more than any plan we could write in advance. It is also why our beef menu changes daily and why the dish you loved in July may not be there in October.
We keep gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options on the menu at all times, and we run a dedicated gluten free fryer so that those dishes stay that way.
Where Our Food Comes From
We name our sources because we think you should know them.
Wernette Beef – Remus, MI
Charity Farms
Cass River Produce
Great Lakes Fish
Produce is locally sourced and seasonal, which is the honest reason the menu moves the way it does.
The Dining Room
Recently Remodeled, Above the Harbor
We are on the second floor of the Port Sanilac Marina building, overlooking the harbor on Lake Huron. The building has been completely remodeled. Ask for a table by the window, or sit outside on the balcony when the weather cooperates.
The kitchen is open to the room. Along one side of it runs an L shaped bar, which is where we serve the Chef’s Table. There is also a full cocktail bar.
