Sarah Wilson
Staff Writer

Like many folks in the Littleton-Lake Gaston area, Mark Murphy moved to the region searching for a relaxed, somewhat slower pace of life.

Unlike many, though, he has a particular skill that is not all that common – he’s a professional chef with more than two decades of experience in the kitchen.

And while the idea of being a chef might conjure up images of men, and women, standing around in white puffy hats working at exclusive restaurants in major cities around the world, Murphy got his first cooking job at a somewhat more pedestrian place – Taco Bell.

That was in 1984, two years after he graduated from Florida International University with a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management and Business. After working in Colorado for two years he returned to Cincinnati, where he spent part of his childhood and teen years, and took the Taco Bell job.That didn’t last long.

Six months later he was transferred to Melbourne, Fla., where he served as a district manager for the fast food chain, until 1987, when he moved on to Spinelli’s  an Italian restaurant that allowed Murphy to attend an eight-week course at the Culinary Institute of America in High Part, N.Y., which allowed him to broaden his skills in creative food garnishing such as cake decorating and ice carving.

Always on the prowl for new challenges, he ended up as a chef at Breaker’s Hotel and Restaurant in Palm Beach, Fla. where he stayed for the next three years.

He then returned to Miami to help run a five location sports bar called Hooligan’s while simultaneously helping out other restaurants in the area. “I worked about 90 hours a week during that time,” he said of his grueling schedule.

In 1995, after living and working for close to twenty years in Florida, he decided to move to Raleigh, where he rented a townhouse from his brother, Mike. Murphy said his parents were getting older, and although they were still in Cincinnati, he would have an easier time getting to them when traveling from North Carolina than from Florida.

He also explained that he was tired of the “rat-race” in the cities, and wanted to move somewhere that was more relaxed.

While in Raleigh he worked at Charlie Goodnight’s, although he soon bought a house in Rolesville.

Little did Mark know the rat race was following him. He said Rolesville grew very quickly from the small, quiet town it was when he moved there.

“I saw Rolesville grow faster than Miami in only seven years. I had to leave,” he said.

Murphy sold his house in Rolesville in October and bought a house in Littleton, where he now serves as chef at Main Street Station, owned by Jack and Kathy LaFoon.

“I came to Littleton because a friend of mine was helping Kathy and Jack jump start the restaurant side of their business. I’m sold on the area. Everybody I’ve met here is great. Littleton reminds me of Coconut Grove in Miami about thirty years ago – that’s what I love about it.”

Though one might not think this normal of a chef, Murphy said he enjoys
“getting my hands dirty.”

He explains: “I never wanted to be one of those chefs that stood around telling all the kitchen employees what to do. I never ask them to do something I can’t do myself.”

And he has many chances to get his hands dirty now, cooking up all sorts of dishes for local folks visiting Main Street Station.

He said his favorite meal to prepare is Salmon en Croute’e; a salmon fillet with salmon mouse, mushrooms and dill, wrapped in a puff pastry.

He dreams up such dishes five to six days a week while on duty at Main Street Station, where he works lunches, specialty dinners and does some catering.

Outside of work he enjoys a number of outdoor activities, including hunting, fishing, and he’s looking to try kayaking. “I used to do a lot of bike riding and racing. I would like to get back into riding again,” said Murphy.