Fudio offers intimate dining, cooking classes in downtown Cape

Fudio, a kitchen studio from chef and owner Lisa Essmyer, is up and running.

It’s a smallish room in the back corner of The Indie House at 605 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, wide windows, a redbrick wall, dark wood with bright teal paint — and limited seating. For now, a pew and a scattering of chairs can accommodate six patrons, Essmyer said, but she’ll be expanding it to eight in the near future.

All of her equipment is visible. The stainless-steel appliances, from range and hood to refrigerator to triple sink, dominate the room, and the working surfaces are thoughtfully arranged to maximize learning spaces.

“The whole reason behind me opening this space was, people in the community asked me a lot, ‘Hey, do you do cooking classes?’” she said.

And she’s happy with the space, she said, describing The Indie House overall as “my vibe and aesthetic.”

Fudio owner and chef Lisa Essmyer poses for a portrait Tuesday in the Fudio space inside The Indie House, 605 Broadway in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

Essmyer, an instructor in the hospitality management program in the management department at Southeast Missouri State University, said she trained at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Florida, and had an internship, then a staff position, at the Ritz-Carlton there.

When she moved back to Cape Girardeau, she worked as a corporate executive chef at Chateau Girardeau for a year, and in needing students to work as interns, came into contact with the university, she said.

That led to her teaching career. In her spare time, she’s given dinner parties, and can do cooking classes in people’s homes.

Essmyer said commercial equipment can’t be used for personal cooking, and the space she uses for her university students needs to be reserved for them.

She started buying equipment, she said, assuming that, worst-case scenario, she could sell it if nothing panned out.

Then she saw a social-media post from Laurie Everett, owner of Annie Laurie’s and The Indie House.

“She had some openings for businesses,” Essmyer said.

One of those openings was the space she now occupies, Essmyer said.

Essmyer had explained to Everett what she wanted to do: have a tiny restaurant Essmyer could manage by herself, have creative control, and hopefully turn a profit.

A friend suggested Essmyer take a course offered by the Small Business Development Center, or SBDC, at Southeast’s Economic and Business Engagement Center. She did, then entered and won a pitch contest with a $500 cash prize.

She finished the class with a plan, she said, and while she didn’t know all she was getting into with having Fudio, she’s excited with the new endeavor.

Essmyer said she plans to tailor her Fudio offerings to her audience. She’ll have meals in the space by reservation only, she said, and she’ll post her weekly menus on her Facebook and Instagram pages — search Fudio Kitchen Studio.

Cooking classes will also be posted online as she offers them, she said.

“I’ll try to keep it seasonal, and fun,” Essmyer said.

She’ll also keep an eye toward sustainability, she said, encouraging people to bring reusable containers for leftovers or take-aways, using cloth napkins, and plans to compost her food waste.

Essmyer won’t focus on any particular type of cuisine, but, she said, “I really love making soups and sauces and salad dressings. I’ve been told by my friends and family, soups are my superpower.”

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