Food is an important part of the culture of Southwest Florida, and its landscape is getting more and more diverse. Chefs from all over the country and all over the world are making their mark locally, and collectively, they are helping to raise the bar when it comes to local dining.
Besides their passion for food, each of these chefs is passionate about providing their personal touch, both in the front and the back of the house. If you don’t already, we thought you should know these names.
Brian Tietz
Emma Calcara poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Emma Calcara
Palladio, Naples
“There are a million and one Italian restaurants in Southwest Florida but none specializing in where I’m from,” says Emma Calcara, chef and owner of Palladio in Naples. She is from Vicenza in the Veneto region of northern Italy where linguini with squid ink is a specialty.
“These recipes have been around for hundreds of years,” she says. “My grandma and great grandma had restaurants, so I’m bringing back their dishes with my twist.” Her father is also a chef.
Emma makes much of her own pasta, including bigoli; it looks like thick spaghetti but with a different consistency and texture, like that of gnocchi. Made with duck eggs, she calls it “rich” and serves it with duck ragu, another dish from her region.
The Italian chef moved to Southwest Florida from Los Angeles nearly three years ago to be closer to family. As a bass player, she moved to LA to be a musician but instead of becoming a rock star, she cooked for them as the chef on tour with Live Nation.
You might imagine she has live music in the restaurant, and when cooking she says, “My mother is Brazilian so sometimes I listen to bossa nova, but if I need to rock it out, you’ll hear Iron Maiden from the kitchen. Music helps me work. It puts my mind in a good space.”
Brian Tietz
Joe Pittman poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Joe Pittman
Azure, Fort Myers
Culinary school or brewing school? That was the question Joe Pittman asked himself at the age of 24. Today he is celebrating three years at the helm of Azure in Fort Myers.
“I grew up in the South,” says the Mobile, Alabama native, “where food was always a part of life. My dad was the grill master.”
Pittman started bussing tables at the age of 15 and later managed a brewery before going to culinary school.
“You have to put your heart into cooking. I cook from what I know. I know a lot of French but also low country, so I incorporate those flavors with French technique,” he says.
He cooks classics such as foie gras, sweet breads and coq au vin but sometimes adds a Southern twist of flavors and ingredients, like with his New Orleans-style shrimp Creole or coddled egg.
“I try to do some fusion here but still love the classics, rich veal sauces. Or taking an organ and making it into a delicate beautiful dish that people might be hesitant to eat, and they try it and love it.”
Even though he chose culinary school over brewing, he is still passionate about the latter. When not in the kitchen, you’ll find him brewing at home.
Brian Tietz
Jacob Jasinski poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Jacob Jasinski
Sails, Naples
Chef Jacob Jasinski relocated from Rhode Island last spring to open Sails, one of the hottest new restaurants on Fifth Avenue South in Naples. Working primarily with seafood that is flown in daily from all over the world is right up this New Englander’s alley.
Scallops are one of his favorite foods and the first thing he eats when he returns home.
“When we get live scallops at Sails, it’s very exciting. There’s nothing like it,” he says. “You don’t have to do much at all to them, a touch of citrus and fat, like olive oil, and that’s it. It’s pretty perfect the way it is.”
About cooking seafood, he says, “It’s a good measure of your abilities and experience as a cook. Fifteen to 20 seconds makes a tremendous difference between pretty good, exceptional and overcooked.”
Having worked all over the U.S., France and Italy, his love of cooking began as a child making stuffed cabbage with his Polish grandma and lasagna with his dad. A curious kid with an inclination toward cooking, he was clear in high school that after graduation he would enroll in culinary school.
When not in the kitchen, he plays guitar and chases that elusive family time that chefs seldom get enough of.
Brian Tietz
Melissa Talmadge poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Melissa Talmage
Sweet Melissa's Cafe, Sanibel
Melissa Talmage has been serving Sanibel Island diners for more than 10 years.
“I have an amazing staff,” she says. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve been able to last as long as I have. We’re small and really close.”
Born outside of Philadelphia and working in big cities such as New York and D.C., the time she spent in New Orleans is quite evident in her cooking.
“I experiment with different food,” she says, “but I still lean toward Southern/French Creole.”
She ended up in Southwest Florida following Hurricane Katrina.
Owning a restaurant on an island, seafood figures prominently, however, she says adamantly, “No fried grouper.”
Her fish stew is a signature. Laughing, she recalls, “I tried to take it off the menu once and people rioted over it.”
Vegetables are also important to the popular chef. When she creates a dish, she starts at the bottom of the plate and builds up from there, so it doesn’t just taste great, it looks great, too.
She admits that while keeping her patrons in mind, “I still cook for myself. When I create a dish, 95 percent of the time it’s something that I would want to eat. It seems to be working.”
Brian Tietz
Asif Syed poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Asif Syed
21 Spices, Naples
Asif Syed has been on the Food Network more than any other local chef, and in September he actually “Beat Bobby Flay” in the eponymous cooking show. He did it with chicken tandoori.
“I was fully prepared,” says the exuberant chef, “This was not an ordinary competition; he is an iron chef.”
Classically trained, Chef Asif was born near Hyderabad, India, famous for Mughlai cuisine. That is what you’ll find at his Naples restaurant, 21 Spices.
“The menu is unique,” he says. “No other Indian restaurant has these dishes, from this part of India.”
It’s an area influenced by Turkish and Middle Eastern cultures. The spices are rich and expensive with ingredients like saffron. He adds his classic techniques and American experiences for truly unique creations.
Asif is always in a chef’s coat but has a strong team in the kitchen, allowing him to be out front interacting with diners.
“My main thing is my connection with my guests,” chef says. “I want them to leave satisfied and with memories, like a photograph, captured in their brain.”
His energy is infectious, so is his smile, and with a big one spreading across his face, he declares for 21 Spices, “I want a Michelin star.”
Brian Tietz
Ryan Fredstrom poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Ryan Fredstrom
Angelina's, Estero
For all intents and purposes, Chef Ryan Fredstrom is a Naples native. Born in Texas, he moved here as an infant. Today as executive chef at Angelina’s Ristorante in Bonita Springs, he’s seen the local culinary scene change drastically.
“The area has really come into its own,” he says.
Growing up, he says, “I cooked a little, helping my mom and grandma.” He laughs. “I liked to make sandwiches and perfected the art of folding turkey, meat and cheese.” But mostly he liked to eat. “I ate everything and anything that tasted good. It didn’t matter what kind of cuisine.”
The switch flipped for him at the age of 16 on a school trip to London; he dined at his first Michelin Star restaurant.
“My mind was blown ever since then,” he says, “the French cuisine, the plates. I fell in love.”
Not knowing what path to take when it was time for college, he remembers, “Eating has always been my passion, so I took a vocational class in culinary arts.” That class sealed the deal, and he enrolled in Johnson & Wales University to become a chef.
One of his favorite childhood comfort foods, “my mom and grandma make an egg casserole for Christmas with rye bread, pork sausage and Swiss cheese. This would be my death row dish.”
Brian Tietz
Fabrice Deletrain poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Fabrice Deletrain
Fathoms and Gather, Cape Coral
Fabrice Deletrain is most often found in the open kitchen at Fathoms in Cape Coral, although he also serves as executive chef for Gather. Growing up in a culinary family in Paris, he got his official chef’s coat as a teenager, before moving to Southwest Florida.
“I always had a love for food,” he says. “There is nothing I will not eat.”
When Ben Voisin and partners bought the restaurant where he was chef, changing it to Fathoms, Fabrice was given a new culinary freedom, and it made quite an impact on Cape Coral dining.
He is inspired by travel. Flying home from a recent trip to New York City, he grabbed a slice of pizza from a restaurant near his gate. “It had Brussels sprouts, blue cheese, and I was like, damn, that’s good pizza.” He came home and created his own version affectionately called The LaGuardia.
Besides being talented in the kitchen, Fabrice has personality. He understands the role of today’s chef, explaining, “People don’t just come in for food but also the ambience, to be entertained, the whole experience.” And they come in to see him.
Always taking time to connect with patrons, both he and Ben are also quite visible in the community — the dynamic French duo.
One of Fabrice’s favorite things to do in the kitchen: “I like to butcher and clean fish. It’s relaxing to me, meditative, like my yoga class.”
Brian Tietz
BenjaminVoisin poses in the Poliform kitchens of the Richlin International showroom located in the Miromar Design Center, Estero.
Benjamin Voisin
Fathoms and Gather, Cape Coral
“I was a good student and when I said I wanted to go to hospitality school, one of my teachers told my mom, ‘He can do much better,’” remembers Benjamin Voisin, executive chef and owner of Fathoms and Gather in Cape Coral.
“I was offended and thought, screw you, I’m gonna be a good chef,” he says defiantly. Today at the age of 33, Ben is a business owner and worked in kitchens across Europe and the Caribbean before landing in Southwest Florida — if that teacher could only see him now.
Born outside of Paris, he grew up in Bordeaux and also owns Black Salt Culinary with his executive chef and right-hand man, Chef Fabrice Deletrain.
With a big city vibe, Gather is his newest endeavor, where breakfast is also served, and it’s anything but standard. His eggs Benedict come over pan-seared lobster cakes, and the corn beef hash has a porcini demi glaze.
The only time you won’t see him at one of his two restaurants is if a big soccer game is on or if it’s Sunday when he cooks at home.
“I have my own wood fire pit and cook a big Argentinean (his wife’s home country) barbecue with family and friends,” he says. “To me that is the best.”