Southwest Florida chefs appear to be in great demand. Three of our finest—Lisa Boet of Chez Boet, Charles Mereday of Mereday’s Fine Dining and Brian Roland of Crave Culinaire—were chosen to host luxury culinary cruises next summer. The cruises, offered by Cruising with the Chefs, are aboard one of the most elegant, epicurean ships at sea—Oceana’s Riviera. The chefs will teach cooking classes, lead groups to markets and restaurants at the various ports of call, and prepare special meals on board. Cruising with the Chefs was founded and is operated by Rodney and Lisa George, part-time Naples residents. Chef Mereday is particularly excited: “It will be my first visit to these legendary culinary destinations in Italy, France and Spain,” he says …
REALITY FLARES UP
The drama has already begun and the cameras aren’t officially rolling yet.
—Nannette Staropoli, cast member of Paradise Coast Wives
Is Naples ready for its own Housewives reality free-for-all? Well, it’s kind of here already with sparks flying. Producer Chuck Ardezzone is putting together Paradise Coast Wives and, during a meet-and-greet for the cast, a spat between two of the wives flared almost immediately. “I can’t wait to see what the show brings us all,” says Nannette, a local marketing maven. Producer Ardezzone calls his cast members “interesting and wealthy women with a combined net worth of over a billion dollars” and hopes to get the show picked up by a network. One of the high-profile cast members is Shemane Nugent, wife of singer Ted Nugent. Other cast members include Carole Allen, Jane Bond-Rostron, Jennifer Conery, Tracy Wenkman, Leanne Thrasher Chang, Dr. Elizabeth Fox, Sharon DeLaura, Elizabeth Latshaw and Tess Chiodo. Gentlewomen, sharpen your nails.
… Talk about a bridge and troubled waters: Someone thought it would be a good idea to have a bridge over the Caloosahatchee River bearing the name of Henry Ford, the automaker and part-time Fort Myers resident. Wrong. State Representative Matt Caldwell took the idea to the legislature and got it passed—and then came the backlash. Ford was a well-known anti-Semite who distributed literature in his car dealerships blaming Jews as the “root of America’s ills.” Rep. Caldwell admitted he knew about Ford’s views, but told NBC 2 he thought it was only “a footnote in history.” He said he spearheaded the name change at the request of a constituent. With hundreds of protesters planning to show up at the Fort Myers City Council meeting in September, Mayor Randy Henderson pulled the item off the agenda, essentially killing the name change …
CONCERTED EFFORT
I can’t get the lyrics wrong. Too many people know them all.
—John Tesh, musician and radio show host
John Tesh and his orchestra are coming to The Ritz-Carlton, Naples on Dec. 12 to play old-favorite holiday tunes in the big-band style. It’s a joy appearing in Naples, he says: “My band members fight to be in the group for this trip— having something to do with the sun and the water at this time of year.” But they’ll have to be on their toes for the performance. “There are, for example, 19 verses of Sleigh Ride,” he says, “and I better be very careful to get them all right.” Yes, the concert-goers know their stuff. And they’ll be invited to show it for sure when the maestro springs his Christmas trivia quiz on them. Expect his signature “intelligence for your life” items, too. Should be a night of some singing along, a little dancing and whatever corrections are necessary to get this holiday celebration right.
… Naples neurologist David Perlmutter, M.D., appeared on The Dr. Oz Show in September. The longtime Naples physician talked about his new book The Grain Brain Cook- book, which follows on the success of last year’s No. 1 New York Times best- seller, Grain Brain. He is convinced that what you eat determines whether your brain stays vibrant and sharp. His message: Cut carbs and load up on healthy fats. He says, “A tablespoon of coconut oil a day keeps the doctor away.” … Co-chairs of the Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest Dorothy Fitzgerald and Elaine Hawkins, their husbands and fellow high-bidders Vicki and Richard Pitbladdo turned up in California this summer buying several lots at the Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction. Leading Southwest Florida auctioneer Scott Robertson and his team stepped in to help raise $5 million, double the total from last year. Joe Anderson of Benovia Winery, whose generosity put the Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest over its goal, did the same for the Sonoma event. “Our hope,” Elaine says, “is that the vintners and supporters there will come and support our event.” Fair exchange, it would seem … Barbara Lynch of Boston’s Menton will be the chef de cuisine at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in January and will be joined by such other star chefs as Tom Colicchio and Paul Bartolotta. The group of 18 chefs for the event come from 11 different America cities and have accounted for 23 James Beard awards.
