Los Gatos Weekly-Times Photograph by George Sakkestad Russ and Dianne Pesek enjoy outdoor dining at Lupin Naturist Club Restaurant. Food at Lupin restaurant caters to eclectic crowd By Suzanne Cristallo It's rustic and straightforward. What better way to describe food at a naturist club? The Lupin Clubhouse Restaurant in Los Gatos serves hearty fare designed to appease the appetites of a thousand members of the Lupin Naturist Club. Mainly, they're meat-eaters, and up to 200 of them and their guests visit on sunny weekends along with drop-ins who drive up for a meal and a brief taste of freedom. Since its origin in 1936, the club has weathered five names, a raging wildfire, surging mudslides, a major earthquake, near-bankruptcy and the perceptions of a "clothes-compulsive culture." It's a family place where cameras are on a par with guns, and solitude, if one wants it, exists among 110 acres of big oaks and pines, beside green lawns with views of forested mountains and in one's own Mongolian-style yurt. Owner Glyn Stout, tanned and cordial, has been a part of the place for 30 years: the first 10 as a member, another 10 as the operator and, since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, sole owner. Standing in a lush garden bordered with scent-filled herbs, he seems quietly proud of the restaurant he rebuilt in 1994 along with 11 other buildings destroyed by the quake. The dining room is a big, airy place with beam ceilings, walls enlivened by members' art and an inviting grand piano. French doors open to a deck overlooking an orchard of young fruit trees and the mountains beyond. Busy in the sparkling kitchen is chef Bernadette Westerhof, a 1991 graduate of San Francisco's California Culinary Academy. She delights in creating dishes reflecting her Dutch-Indonesian heritage, like curry satays (skewers) dipped in a secret peanut sauce. "Actually, the secret ingredient is Reese's peanut butter," she confides with a grin. "It really smooths out the flavor." She is assisted on weekends by her fiancé, Marriott Corporation Services chef Jon Brockmon. She keeps a photo of him handy in the kitchen from his first visit to the club, clad in a big smile and a strategically placed frying pan. Owner Stout teases that it may become part of a "Know Your Chef" series of portraits on the dining room wall. The best way to know chefs, however, is through their cooking, and--for the curious--they do it fully clad. With a grin, Westerhof warns, "Don't bake in the nude!" The trickiest part of her job is finding a menu that will cater to a crowd whose tastes span from hamburger to filet mignon. Both are on the menu, but Westerhof's specialty is turkey roulade--a flattened breast layered with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, Gorgonzola and pinenuts, then rolled, sliced and covered with a white sauce. Three meals are served on weekends and two on weekdays, with lunches costing around $5.95 and dinner around $12 with soup or salad. Beer and wine are available. Advance reservations are requested, and non-members are asked to check in at the office first. Clothing is optional. For first-timers, Stout is reassuring. "Within 30 minutes, they're comfortable." Just bring a towel to sit on. Lupin Clubhouse Restaurant, Los Gatos. Open for breakfast Sat. and Sun. 8-11 a.m., lunch daily noon-2 p.m., dinner daily 6-8 p.m. For reservations, call 353-2250. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, September 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.