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Chef Matt Djerf, Prime 239 Steakhouse. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
Prime 239 Steakhouse has announced the appointment of Matt Djerf\u00a0(pronounced \u2018Jerf\u2019)\u00a0as its new executive chef at the award-winning\u00a0restaurant at 1715 Cape Coral Parkway West.\n<\/p>\n
A Cape Coral native with deep roots in the local dining scene, Djerf brings more than 15 years of culinary experience and a passion for refined, flavor-forward cooking to the steakhouse. His journey began working alongside the late Chef Shannon Yates, one of the region\u2019s most respected restaurateurs, first cooking for the Boston Red Sox and later helping open Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery in 2012.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI started out washing dishes and doing prep work at Nevermind and eventually worked my way up to running the kitchen,\u201d says Djerf, adding that every station, every burn and every late night was part of the journey. \u201cShannon taught me not only how to cook, but how to lead a kitchen and connect with the community through food.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Over the years, Djerf continued to hone his skills at several of Southwest Florida\u2019s top restaurants, including CRaVE, Leroy\u2019s in Punta Gorda, Hooked Island Grill, Cru and Lush. He also helped open Enter the Dragon, an eclectic local favorite known for its creative blend of tacos, fried chicken and sushi.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cJoining Prime 239 feels like coming home,\u201d says Djerf. \u201cThis is much more my wheelhouse \u2014 incredible ingredients, classic steakhouse flavor and a team that\u2019s passionate about excellence.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Prime 239 owner George Lukas says Djerf\u2019s appointment reflects the restaurant\u2019s commitment to cultivating homegrown talent and maintaining the high standards that have defined its success since opening in 2022.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMatt represents the next generation of Cape Coral culinary leadership,\u201d says Lukas. \u201cHe\u2019s got the creativity, discipline and heart that make great chefs \u2014 and he understands what our guests expect from a Prime 239 dining experience. We\u2019re thrilled to have him leading our kitchen.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Located at 1715 Cape Coral Parkway West, Prime 239 Steakhouse specializes in wet-aged USDA Prime steaks, fresh seafood and creative accompaniments. Named a 2024 Gulfshore Life \u201cBest Steakhouse\u201d finalist, the restaurant offers more than 100 whiskeys, 300+ wines, craft cocktails and non-alcoholic selections. Dine indoors or alfresco. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday 4 to 10 p.m. Closed Sundays.\u00a0 For reservations, visit prime239.com<\/a>\u00a0or call (239) 673-8816.\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chef Matt Djerf, Prime 239 Steakhouse. -COURTESY PHOTO Prime 239 Steakhouse has announced the appointment of Matt Djerf\u00a0(pronounced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-51518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}