By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
STRATHMERE — Changes made last year at the Deauville Inn included a new look inside and out — offering multiple different areas for enjoyment — as well as a new chef with a new menu.
New owners Tim Fox, the Innkeeper, and Robyn Kjar, the Lady of the Inn, brought in southern New Jersey native TJ Ricciardi, 37.
Ricciardi is a 2004 graduate of the Academy of Culinary Art at Atlantic Cape Community College. He attended high school at Triton Regional in Runnemede.
“South Jersey is my bread and butter,” he said.
He comes from a fine-dining background — he worked for the Borgata and Revel and was executive chef for Luke Palladino.
“I’ve been doing this the better part of 17 years and I understand what works and what doesn’t through trial and error,” he said, noting that his previous mindset changed when he grasped the opportunity to incorporate local products into his menu.
“We are really bringing back what eating out in South Jersey is, and it’s about local — local fish, local produce,” he said, adding that he thinks many people aren’t aware of the full extent of the bounty of fresh seafood, produce and wines available on the cape.
“They know this as a beach, a place for vacation, but there’s a lot down here and being a local myself, I understand what it is to be a Jerseyan and I try not to take it for granted,” he said. “I try to tap into those resources with all of the farmers.
Ricciardi said the Deauville is working with Ludlam Bay Oyster Co. and likely would use its entire harvest this year as “exclusive oysters just for us.”
“Those are the kinds of things that helps them out and helps us out,” Ricciardi said. “Dr. Fox’s vision is to bring the community together, have a place where you feel welcome, get some of the freshest seafood around and not just through the summer‚ we are going to do it year-round.”
He said he will be preparing seasonal fish and produce.
“It really doesn’t stop around here, even when it comes to produce,” Ricciardi said. “When you are done with the strawberries and the beans and the lettuce, now you move into the root vegetables.”
With spring just around the corner, he is looking forward to a busy summer.
“When it comes to the summer, there is no other place better to get fresh Jersey produce and we are going to tap into that a lot this season,” Ricciardi said.
The chef said he kept some of the traditional foods on the menu while adding new dishes.
“We kept true to the identity of what the Deauville is,” he said, noting that the quality had fallen over the past decade, with much of the food being prepared elsewhere, which led to “almost a revolt from the patrons.”
“They understood there was not a true chef back there, that food was brought in, dressings weren’t being made here. We are bringing that aspect back here,” he said.
Ricciardi said the Sand Bar has its own kitchen where “we are going to do a great summertime beachfront barbecue” offering burgers, sandwiches, tacos and other casual dining fare.
“There are going to be great offerings — you start with quality products and the end result is you have a quality dish,” Ricciardi said.
In the Dining Room, the menu will be more upscale.
“When you want to go out there for the beach and enjoy that, you go out there but when you really want dinner you come in here,” he said, adding that his motto is “My food is simple and my technique is sound.”
“I try to live by that. I make sure that every step is followed to the T and I don’t take shortcuts,” Ricciardi said.
With a large crowd expected to be beating down the doors this season, the Deauville is “continuing to make improvements to make sure that we can efficiently handle a property of this size — at any given time we can have about 700 people looking for food.”
Ricciardi lives in Sea Isle city with his wife, Amanda, and children Rocco, Giovanni and Mayer.