Taste Unlimited founder dies in Virginia Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

Peter Coe, a man who moved legions of locals to go gourmet, died Wednesday after a weeks-long bout with cancer.

Friends and colleagues remembered Coe, 70, founder of the area's Taste Unlimited chain of gourmet markets, as "elegant," "charismatic" and "a perfect gentleman." They recalled his world travels, his passion for boating and how he tooled around town in a sweet little right-hand-drive Triumph.

But, mostly, they stressed Coe's influence as a culinary pioneer who introduced many a local to fine wine, English marmalade, Russian caviar, Belgian truffles and brie, and as an evangelical epicure who helped put Virginia products on the map.

"He really, really changed the palate of Hampton Roads," said Amy Jordan, Taste Unlimited marketing and public relations director. "When he started Taste Unlimited, most people didn't know what brie was."

Born Nov. 25, 1940, in Waterbury, Conn., Coe developed a taste for fine food early in life. According to family lore, he went directly from mother's milk to milk-fed veal.

He studied business in college, but food - not finance - stoked his passion.

Lured in part by South Hampton Roads' seasonable weather, which allowed him to sail year-round, Coe opened the first Taste Unlimited in Virginia Beach in 1973.

At the time, the area was "Swiss and cheddar country," Coe told a Virginian-Pilot reporter in 1981, but seemed ready for an upscale food market. He stocked the shelves with fine wines and cheeses. Later, he started baking breads and offering an upscale menu of takeout soups, sandwiches and salads.

"Goose pate and camembert cheese - I've worshipped that sandwich since the first time I tasted it," said Monroe Duncan, a well-known restaurateur and one of Coe's contemporaries in the local food scene. "He was a pioneer."

Today, six Taste Unlimited stores are spread across South Hampton Roads.

Even after Coe sold the business in 2006, he continued teaching cooking classes and hosting wine tastings.

On a larger scale, Coe was a catalyst for bringing producers of Virginia-made foods together to market their goods around the world. In the mid-1980s, he approached the state's commissioner of agriculture and successfully pressed for a delegation of staffers to attend the fabled Fancy Foods Show in New York City, considered the premier venue in the trade.

"It was his introduction that has gotten us to where we are today - the largest state pavilion to be exhibiting at the 2011 summer show" in July, said Lisa Lafoon Lloyd, a promotion specialist with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

"It is ironic that he would meet his demise at the same time that Virginia would reach its pinnacle in the specialty-food industry."

Coe's daughter, Sabra Coe Young, remembers her father's behind-the-scenes work to establish local farmers markets as well as his efforts to mentor employees in the food business.

He remained an epicure until the end, she said. During a stint in the hospital, Coe's close friend, Maribeth "Guilly" Frank, brought him dinners such as veal Marsala each day.

Last month, he nibbled his Father's Day gift of artisanal goat cheese in an Oceanfront cabana with friends.

And last week, he attended the opening of Todd Jurich's 21st Century Burgerbar in Virginia Beach.

"He never lost his taste for food," his daughter said.

Coe's funeral service is planned for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Galilee Church in Virginia Beach.

Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com

Cindy Clayton, (757) 446-2377, cindy.clayton@pilotonline.com