Chef bids Southwest Florida goodbye to head back to his roots

One era ends and another begins next week at the KitchenAid Culinary Center at Robb & Stucky Casual Living Outdoor in Bonita Springs.

Chef Martin Murphy ends his threeyear run there, turning over the wellequipped facility to Kristina San Filippe, a Culinary Institute of America alumna who has served as sous chef for the past year.

Murphy arrived in Fort Myers in March 2000 to head up the innovative Blue Pepper Gourmet Market. Over the past eight years, he created vibrant cuisine using ultra-fresh ingredients, locally produced whenever possible. Besides serving great food at the now-defunct Blue Pepper and at the KitchenAid Culinary Center, he's participated in hundreds of fund raisers and taught countless amateurs and pros a whole lot about the art of simple, elegant cooking.

Next week, Murphy returns to his native New England. His wife and children moved last year to their new home in Lyme, N.H., a small town about 20 miles from Hanover, home of Dartmouth College.

"It's always been a dream of mine to live in a small town," Murphy says. "This place is loaded with small farms, is 80 percent woodland with rolling hills. It's a beautiful part of the world. There are no traffic lights and less than 1,000 people."

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN Chef Martin Murphy heads back to his native New England next week, after eight years in Southwest Florida. He'll preside over Stella's Italian Market and Restaurant, an establishment under construction on the town's village green, producing pizzas, sandwiches and Italian fare plus some of his trademark fare using fresh seafood, local meat, dairy and produce. He's happy about the move - mostly.

"I've made a lot of friends here," he says. "I'll miss everybody. Southwest Florida has been great to me. It's bittersweet."

He believes he's leaving the culinary center in good hands.

"We hired Kristina a year ago," he says. "I've been grooming her to take over. She's certainly warmed up. I've been commuting between here and New Hampshire so she's done wine dinners, classes and has her own following."

San Filippe, 28, has family in Naples and has worked in restaurants in New Orleans, Atlanta and Kaui, Hawaii.

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN Torsten Josupeit, who owns Delicious Things in downtown Fort Myers with his wife, Ines, offers Italian fare daily lunch and dinner, but add specialties from his homeland, Germany, to the Monday night lineup. She realizes she has big shoes to fill, but she's excited about the opportunity.

"Using sustainable local ingredients is important to me," she says. "I believe in healthy eating. Being paid to learn and teach people about it is a great opportunity."

Local Murphy fans will get a final chance to say goodbye at Sunday's Taste of Love event. (See details below.) For more information on upcoming events and classes at the culinary center, check out the Web site, www.RobbStucky.com, or call 390-2222.

Chefs team up for Taste of Love

A dozen chefs plus several area businesses team up Sunday for Taste of Love 5, a benefit for Special Equestrians, a non-profit group that helps children and adults with physical and learning disabilities learn and grow through therapeutic horseback riding.

The event takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. at Robb & Stucky Casual Living Outdoor, 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs. Tickets are $150 each.

Participating chefs include: Martin Murphy, from Robb & Stucky; Norbert Mess, of Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club; Jayne and Brian Baker, of Jayne's Victorian Garden; Brian Martin, of EVOO Market & Bistro; Russell Heintze and John Innarelli, of Sasse's; Karen Hutto, of The Flying Pig; Bill Wavrin, of Dwyers; Reiner Drygala of Bistro 41 and Philippa Arlandis and Michael Ragusa of The Sandy Butler.

Norman Love Confections will supply chocolates, Frank Pulice of Austin's Wine Cellar will select the wines and Rich Castiano of The Cigar Bar will offer hand-rolled cigars. There will be a live auction, with Jay Severson serving as auctioneer and NBC2 anchor Jessica Stilwell hosting.

For details or tickets, contact Barbara Carlin at 768-2893 or bcarlin@aol.com or Jan Fifer at 851-7070 or jtfifer@gmail. com.

Cru team keeps busy

The Soup Kitchen on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard had some guest chefs a couple of weeks ago when Cru Executive Chef Brian Roland and members of his staff volunteered to make lunch.

Using ingredients donated by local businesses, Roland, along with sous chefs Richie Wilim and Josh Zeman, made chicken cacciatore, braised kale with wild mushrooms, green bean casserole, black beans and rice, roasted potatoes, salad and peach cobbler. Other Cru staffers who helped out were Joey Remington, general manager, and servers Dominick Magine and Miosoti Pchardo.

"We had a great time," says Roland. "We felt the need to give back to the community, more so now than ever because the economy is doing so poorly."

For those who are lucky enough to be able to afford to dine out, Cru's Protein Series continues Sunday with a fourcourse focus on buffalo. It's $70 for the meal only, $90 with wine. The March 2 Protein Series dinner features Kobe beef.

For details, check out www.crufoodandwine. com or call 466-3663.

Delicious Things features taste of Germany

Have you been craving goulash and schnitzel? Sauerbraten with red cabbage and potato dumplings? German specialties are available on Mondays at Delicious Things, 2262 First St., downtown Fort Myers. Torsten and Ines Josupeit, the new owners of the Italian restaurant, have added a rotating lineup of dishes from their homeland to the Monday menu in hopes of building business on a traditionally slow night. The standard dinner menu is also available. Delicious Things is open every day. Call 332-7797.

Coconuts moves into Marinatown

Coconuts Waterfront Bar & Grill opened recently in Marinatown in the space previously occupied by Hurricane Harry's. The new management has pared down the tropical paraphernalia that tended to overwhelm the senses and attract dust. The dining room has gotten a thorough cleaning and paint job, there are fewer tables and televisions, creating a more open and appealing atmosphere. Another plus are the comfortable upholstered chairs at the indoor tables. The waterfront chickee hut remains for those who want to dine outside. The menu is Caribbean, featuring conch fritters, roasted pork, crab cakes, cane skewers with veggies and shrimp, beef or chicken, paella, black beans and rice and lots of seafood.

It's at 3448 Marinatown Lane, just off Hancock Bridge Parkway in North Fort Myers. Call 652-5787 or go online at www.CoconutsBarandGrill.com.