Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995                   TAG: 9510250012
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ROCKY WOMACK DANVILLE REGISTER & BEE
DATELINE: CHATHAM, VA.                                LENGTH: Medium

CHATHAM RESTAURANT BUILDS ITS MENU ON FRENCH TRADITION

``Joel pulls from the classics style of cooking,'' said his wife and co-owner Peggy. ``He uses his knife. It's a tool.''

Wesley uses that tool to concoct dishes rooted in the French tradition. He thinks of a popular dish and builds on it.

``I take it and give it a twist,'' he said. ``I give it my little signature.''

For instance, when preparing food, he garnishes the plate with herbs or adds a touch of elegance with decorations of diced vegetables.

``We feel you sort of eat with your eyes, too,'' he said.

The Wesleys practice a back-to-basics concept using fresh meat, fish, chicken, herbs and vegetables.

Wesley creates entrees such as chicken cacciatore, gourmet beef pot pie, Cornish hen Marco Polo, seafood Newburg, quail and Maryland stuffed shrimp. Mrs. Wesley bakes her own bread and creates her own desserts. They make homemade dressings, soups, sauces and appetizers. In addition, they grow many of their own vegetables, fruits and herbs.

``I just didn't open a can and throw it in a pot of boiling water,'' Wesley said of cooking. ``We have a commitment to quality. Peggy and I just don't run a restaurant. We live a restaurant. We think it. When we go home at night, we open a book - a cookbook.''

His 14 years of cooking expertise span some of the finer restaurants: the Hotel Floreal in Italy and Chicago eateries such as Arnie's, Gordon, and Gene and Georgetti.

In 1987, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She graduated from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago in 1989.

The Wesleys have owned Eldon since January 1991. In the downstairs of this Southern mansion, the restaurant offers casual yet elegant dining. Customers vary from young professionals to retired couples and vacationers.

Joined by a bed and breakfast owned by Wesley's parents, Bob and Joy Lemm, Eldon was the former home of Virginia Gov. Claude Swanson.

The plantation, once a Civil War hospital, supports a columned porch and a fountain out front. Inside, all three dining rooms house fireplaces flanked by mantel pieces, and chandeliers hang from each ceiling. Old books occupy shelves in the library room. Plants, candles or fresh flowers in bud vases decorate each dinner table and the sideboard buffets.

Name: Eldon Restaurant

Address: Chatham. Phone: 804-432-0934. Specialty: Serving fresh and innovative cuisine in our historic 1835 plantation home. Price range: Dinner $9.95-$14.95; Sunday brunch $9.95. Hours: Dinner 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; Sunday brunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Reservations: Suggested. Dress: Casual. Payment: Visa and Mastercard. Alcoholic beverages: Extensive wine list and an assortment of beers. Non-smoking section: Yes. Handicapped accessible: Yes.

Recipe for:

COLD SUNDRIED TOMATO AND FETA CHEESE SOUFFLE