But those changes were mainly social and political in the world beyond the "dream-like" setting where, 67 years later, families still may bask unabashed and unmasked by social convention.

"It's like a family here. People are more morally accountable, since everybody is so involved with each other," notes newcomer Steve Lee. They play, sleep and eat well in the seven-day-a-week resort, which has been under the ownership of Glen Stout since 1978. Beyond sleeping in a yert or playing tennis and volleyball, three chefs assure that eating is a successful part of the overall experience.

Brandy Franks, 37, has been a chef at Lupin for a year. "I would like to say I'm a gourmet cook—everything from vegan to barbecue," she says. She's the on-duty chef Friday through Sunday, handling lunches and the Saturday night dinner for as many as 80 guests prior to a weekly dance. She also handles the barbeque accompanying Sunday's Music on the Lawn.

The rest of the week's cooking is split between executive chef William Schriver, who takes time out from his day job in a Saratoga restaurant, and chef Jackie Perry, the former kitchen manager for Presentation High School in San Jose. "Diversity is the key to the cooking arts," Franks adds, noting that the three chefs' cooking styles bring variety, from French cooking to southern "down-home" fare.

Franks also brings a certain abandon to her cooking technique. "I prefer cooking in the nude," laughs the California native, who grew up in cowboy boots and cutoffs on her grandparents' ranch in Rio Linda and enjoyed her first nude experience with her parents at the Red, White and Blue Beach in Santa Cruz. Despite warnings about the dangers of baking in the altogether, she says nudity is thrilling. "It's nonsexual. It's a freedom thing."

While she ties back her long blonde hair and dons an apron or shorts for cleanliness, her reverence for virtual nudity and the art of cooking has not come without cost. A red scar caused by a hot baking pan mars her left breast. Numerous white scar lines on her left hand are the marks of sharp chopping knives.

"In cooking school, we were told to yell 'Cut!' when we sliced ourselves, and everyone would stop," she recalls of the fairly common occurrence among students.

The menu she chooses is wholesome and generally accident-free. On this particular day, she is serving charbroiled halibut over a bed of greens, with red peppers and feta cheese with an orange-juice base, plus linguini in a clam sauce.

Several of the kitchen help have taken time out to enjoy it and do a little philosophizing. "You've got to be willing to take criticism," notes Jackie Perry of the perils of cooking for the public. Franks says she's been moved to tears. "Once someone told me I had put too much ginger in my pesto, and it broke my heart."

But the sheer joy they experience in their vocation is evident in the faces of their fans. "I've been scrubbing pots and pans here for six years just so I can get dinner two nights a week," smiles Richard Brode, a local carpenter.

"This place is very spiritual. You're closer to God—like the Garden of Eden," sums up kitchen assistant Butch Fontanetti.

Lupin Naturist Club is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Visit http://lupin.com or call 408.353.2250 for membership information. Overnight guests or luncheon drop-ins are welcome.