Vegetarian Today: The jump from customer to chef.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Byline: Steve Petusevsky

While I am in Los Angeles teaching cooking classes, I decide to make a side trip to Malibu. Once a tiny fishing village, this town is now haven to the stars and entertainment industry executives. I wander by the "past lives regeneration center," hypnotherapist complex and through the center of town loaded with restaurants.

I look for local and unusual places, so the funky cafe hidden away behind tropical plants attracts me. A sign hanging from the roof promises "Fresh Seafood & Vegetarian Dishes."

The view of the Pacific is amazing, and I am hungry, so I give it a shot. The menu offers 30 types of fish as well as rice, tofu and bean dishes.

For local flavor, I order the Malibu Tofu Tortillas. But just then, a busload of 35 Italian tourists pulls up, and they disembark into the little restaurant _ much to the surprise of the new owner, Zyna, and two cooks behind the counter.

The tourists don't speak English; the cooks from Mexico hardly do, either. I turn to the owner, who looks shell-shocked, and say, "I'm a chef. I can help you." She is thrilled.

I slip on a tattered white cook's shirt (two sizes too small), snap it shut and go to work.