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Hernando Today

Get It Baked, Not Fried

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: October 6, 2008

SPRING HILL - They dress like chefs, were trained like chefs and even included the word "chefs" when they named their restaurant.

Cousins Dylan Chamberlain and Craig Jaynes wanted to provide high-quality, succulent meals to a community lacking such deliciously healthy choices.

They also wanted service to be fast. Their lunch business has benefited from that philosophy.

"The product is as good as anywhere you'll go," said Jaynes. "We just put it out faster."

Sauteing and baking are the norms at 2 Chefs. Microwaving and frying are prohibited.

"The people like to see us actually cut the mushrooms in front of them rather than turn around and put them in the microwave," said Chamberlain, who was wiping down the work station after cooking a meal of cheese-crusted chicken, roasted baby red potatoes and mixed vegetables.

"We don't endorse those," his cousin said of microwaves. "It destroys food."

The men serve soups, salads, baked entrees, pasta dishes, sandwiches and wraps.

Their goal when they began their business was to offer a healthy alternative for local residents and business people. They currently are in talks with the owners of the local Gold's Gyms in Hernando County. They want to partner with them and offer healthy snacks and meals for members, they said.

Chamberlain, 31, and Jaynes, 32, attended American Culinary Arts in Lakeland. Soon after they finished, the latter's wife found out she was pregnant.

It was time to start making a future. They decided to waste no time opening the restaurant, Jaynes said.

"I come here all the time," said Melinda Vitale, of Spring Hill, who parked her car outside the Anderson Snow strip mall before 11 a.m. with her mother and 2-year-old daughter.

She and her mother are from New York. 2 Chefs remind them of what they have missed since relocating to Florida.

"If you go to Publix, you get cold cuts," Vitale said. "Here, you get a little more."

Both she and her mother were eating the cheese-crusted chicken in a wrap. The chefs also offer it in a sub and a salad.

"They tear it up any way it comes," said Jaynes of his customers and the cheese-crusted chicken. The dish is one of the most popular on the menu.

2 Chefs Cafe also serves roasted chicken, hand-carved roast beef, Cajun shrimp, spaghetti and meatballs, spinach salad and a sliced prime rib sandwich.

Much of the restaurant's lunch business comes from people at the nearby Airport Industrial Park and other companies in the area. Several subdivisions also are located nearby.

"Dinner has built up quite a lot," said Chamberlain. "It's starting to equal out finally. It's become a nice little niche."

Dinners are served in plastic foam containers. The owners don't have to pay for a dishwasher or spend any time at the end of the day scrubbing and drying. There are no servers, so customers do not need to spend extra on a tip.
Chamberlain and Jaynes knew they wanted the eating experience at 2 Chefs' Cafe to remain affordable.

The menu has been tweaked a few times. With summer over, another change is expected soon.

"We sometimes rotate things out," said Jaynes. "We'll take out the strip steak and maybe bring it back as a special. We'll add the chicken pot pie for the winter."

Biz at a glance:

Name of biz - 2 Chefs' Cafe

Owners - Dylan Chamberlain and Craig Jaynes
What it is - Gourmet, fast-service restaurant

Where it is - 3065 Anderson Snow Road, Spring Hill
Hours of operation - 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 8 p.m. Saturday

Get in touch - 352-799-9096

On the Web - www.TwoChefsCafe.com.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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