Drum roll, please …

They’ll fire up the outdoor grill at THE COVE RESTAURANT at Captain Whidbey Inn this weekend. Restaurant owners JIM and SELINA ROBERTS have been pleasing customers for the past two years and hope to meet new ones from their outdoor gazebo kitchen, overlooking Penn Cove, home to those famous mussels.

“We won the mussel chowder cook-off a few months ago,” Jim said excitedly. At 38, he has the energy of a teenager, answering my questions so fast my Bic overheated like a cheap crepe pan.

As chef/owner, he must see to many details. “We even work on our days off, planning the wine list and setting things up,” he said. MICHAEL TSOSIE is his lead cook and indispensable backup man.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week and accommodates weddings all year long.

Jim and Selina trained at the Culinary Institute of America. They worked together at Seattle’s Campagne. Jim also worked at Rover’s and Selina at the Ruins private supper club, also in Seattle.

The two have a 5-year-old son ELI and will welcome another son, ARI NATHANIEL, in July.

Alas, a chef’s life is not as glamorous as it may seem. His advice for young would-be chefs is to, “Watch TV cooking shows, experiment and get a good textbook, such as Escoffier, prepare sauces, get exposure to classic techniques and work in restaurants before going to culinary school. It’s a lot of hard work. You have to love it to do it.”

When the deck chairs have been stowed and the cider starts to simmer, Jim will hold a winter cooking class on Tuesday nights.

“I prepare five to nine dishes in front of the students which they then eat with a glass of wine. Last year’s theme was duck with apricot sauce as a Christmas dinner.”

To avoid disappointment, call ahead for dinner reservations at 678-9325.

Most innovative …

The Armed Services YMCA keeps up with changing times by continuing to improve its programs.

Oak Harbor’s Armed Services YMCA has won the “Most Innovative Improvement” award for its full-day kindergarten program. BUTCH LAURION, executive director and childcare director, wrote the program and was in Washington, D.C., for national training when he accepted the award from the Raytheon Corporation. The recognition also earned the branch a $4,500 grant.

Whidbey Island ASYMCA’s full-day kindergarten program provides an academically challenging curriculum to 15 military and civilian children. The program, which meets Washington State standards and learning goals, helps children develop skills in reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and health and fitness.

The kindergarten program includes a Character Counts curriculum that helps students develop positive character traits.

Laurion praised the work of Lead teacher/supervisor of childcare programs, VERONICA PURIN, and teacher, STACEY BEGAY.

“Next year’s class is already full,” said LAURION, “but we do have a waiting list.” Call 675-2771.

To your health …

You’ve no doubt heard of TOPS, or Take Off Pounds Sensibly. It has helped millions of overweight folks who want to drop pounds and enjoy healthier lives. It’s not an exercise program or diet, and members find it more affordable than many programs.

CONNIE ROSS has been a member of TOPS for almost five years.

“I enjoy the support and the accountability” she said, noting a member must weigh in each week. “It keeps me honest,” she said. “And it’s not just for women.”

This year’s TOPS Walk is June 4, and is strictly fellowship, not competition. All across the country, TOPS group will walk on this first Saturday of June to show solidarity.

Annual dues are $20, monthly dues are $5 and meetings are in the IOOF Hall on Barrington Avenue.

“Just come on a Monday night or Thursday morning,” Ross urged. “Meetings run between one and two hours and everyone gets a chance to speak, so it you have a problem, others in the group can often be of help.”

Some gave all …

Don’t miss CMDR. LAUREL BRAULT of Naval Ocean Processing Facility, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, as she speaks at the 10 a.m. ceremony at Oak Harbor’s Maple Leaf Cemetery as well as the 11:30 a.m. program at Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville.

Do your children know the significance of this day? Go to www.usmemorialday.org and discuss it with them.

VQ-1 forms

new group …

A meeting is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow night in the Military Wives store on Midway in the log cabin building. Call Melinda at 240- 0792 or come to the meeting to find out about a new VQ-1 enlisted spouse group.

I’ll be back next week, but you can call or write anytime with your news. Call 675-6611 or write lifeonwhidbey@yahoo.com