Chef Trades Torrance for Florence

“There’s nobody to take over my food,” says Susumu Fukui, chef at one of Torrance’s most beloved restaurants, Symphonie, “so the owner is going to change the concept.” Fukui, who once headed the kitchen at La Petite Chaya, cooked his last meal at Symphonie last Sunday. The 3-year-old Franco-Japanese restaurant closed its doors and is undergoing a transformation. When it reopens next month, it will be a lower-priced Italian restaurant.

Meanwhile the French-trained, Japanese-born chef also has Italy on his mind; he plans to work at Il Cibreo, the Florentine restaurant famous for its traditional Tuscan cuisine. “I don’t want to copy other restaurants, I want to make my own food,” says Fukui of his future plans, “so I want to learn Italian, old style, and then be more creative, lighter. At Il Cibreo they don’t even serve pasta.”

While Fukui isn’t sure where he will relocate after his Italian lessons, he is certain it won’t be in Japan. “A lot of Japanese people go to Paris, and they taste new food, they call Japan and the next day the same thing, boom . A lot of French chefs visit Japan too. Three-star chefs, two-star chefs, every day somewhere,” says Fukui. Coming back to Torrance is definitely not part of his plan. “I am not going to work for this company (Tombo Enterprises, which owns Symphonie) anymore.”

MENEAU DOUGH: If you’re a pal of actor Roger Moore, you might be invited to the private pre-Oscar party at L’Orangerie. And if you’re lucky enough to be invited, you’ll get to taste the food of Marc Meneau, the three-star chef/owner of L’Esperance in Burgundy. But if you’re not invited, don’t despair: Gerard Ferry, owner of L’Orangerie, has talked the chef into coming a week early to cook for the rest of us. Meneau will be preparing dinner at L’Orangerie March 20-28. “Marc is going to bring his pastry chef and sous-chef with him,” says Ferry, “and we are trying to do a special deal with Martine’s Wines. We hope to offer some special Burgundies at cost.” The meal itself won’t come cheap: a prix - fixe , six-course dinner costs $85, three courses, a la carte will be $95; four courses, $115. Still, by French three-star standards, that’s a bargain.

MUSINGS: In January, we reported that Muse restaurant began adding an additional 3% to the bill of customers who paid by credit card. Now Muse owner Ron Braun tells us that he has stopped the practice. “We only did it to keep our prices down. It wasn’t like I was trying to rip people off. But it is against the law. My roommate is an attorney and he explained it to me.”

BRIEFLY: Because of severe flood damage, Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course in Laguna Beach is closed until June 1, but its restaurant, Ben Brown’s, escaped water damage. “It appears that the public thinks the restaurant was flooded as well, but that’s not the case,” says general manager Ed Slymen. . . . Westsiders, get set to jump-start your day with a double espresso and a fresh pastry at Motor On In, a coffee emporium opening next Sunday on Motor Avenue in Palms. . . . West Hollywood’s Red Car Grill is now keeping breakfast hours. . . . Fennel/Pazzia, the Franco-Italian kitchen combo on La Cienega, will begin serving lunch and dinner beginning Tuesday. . . . South Bay’s Chez Melange now serves late-night supper on Friday and Saturday evenings, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. . . . Dine at the Water Grill in downtown Los Angeles, Wednesday through Saturday evenings, and the restaurant will pick up the taxi fare to and from the Music Center.

BARGAIN: Eat at J/P’s Cocktails on Magnolia in Burbank, Monday through Wednesday, for $10.25, and the second meal will only cost $5.25. Dinner includes soup and salad, potato, vegetable and choice of surf and turf, scampi, or chicken and ribs entrees.