Bob Luhmann has worked in the food industry my entire adult life. He began in 1970 by working at various restaurants and hotels on Cape Cod, in Boston and Vermont until 1978 when his family bought the Captain Linnell House restaurant in Orleans on Cape Cod, where he was executive chef until 1988. While at the Captain Linnell House, the United States’ interest in food exploded and Luhmann became an early proponent of the New American Cuisine. During that time, the restaurant was awarded highest ratings in reviews from a number of publications including the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe, and a number of Luhmann’s recipes were published in Gourmet magazine.
In 1989 he moved to the Berkshires and became the opening executive chef at Kimball Farms Life Care in Lenox. He transitioned to director of dining and nutrition soon after arriving and held that position for 11 years.
After almost 20 years running food services in various retirement communities, Luhmann changed pace and became the food manager at Nejaime’s Wine and Cheese in Stockbridge for a number of years before beginning semi-retirement as a cheesemonger, running wine tastings and generally spouting blarney at Guido’s Fresh Marketplace in Pittsfield. It was during that time he began writing occasional food columns for the Berkshire Eagle.
He lives in Pittsfield and enjoy cooking at home for friends and family, foraging while hiking and listening to live music whenever he can with his partner, Lois, and any friends able to join them.
