San White created The “Original Recipe”™ Smoked Tuna Dip over 50 years ago. Sanford White had an entrepreneurial instinct from early childhood, starting his first business at age 7. He was one of those ‘larger-than-life characters.’

The police put him out of business the first time because he was making slingshots for the entire neighborhood.

A later venture capitalizing on White’s interest in cooking and fishing proved successful and long lasting. His homemade smoked tuna dip recipe blossomed into a business after it developed a reputation along the Florida panhandle in the early 1970s. He would take the dip into parties, and soon was getting calls from people 100 miles away asking, Where can I get this stuff? Today his daughter, Shawna McAusland is the president of Gulf Smoked Seafood Inc., the company her father founded in the early 1970s and carrying on his legacy.

The dip, marketed with the company’s trademark as The “Original Recipe”™ Smoked Tuna Dip, remains Gulf’s primary business. “It’s a magical combination of flavors, and people love it,” she says. One of the dip’s strongest qualities is its versatility – it can be eaten as a salad or used to stuff tomatoes, pasta, chicken, wraps and puff pastry, among other uses.