Wilhelm Hoppe

Wilhelm "Bill" Hoppe was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in October 1956, and passed away Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, at his home. At the time of his death, he was the owner of Hoppe''s Garden Bistro and Wine Shop in Cayucos, the most highly acclaimed restaurant and wine shop on the Central Coast. Hoppe''s Garden Bistro has earned outstanding acclaim for its artful menus and features exotic specialty foods from around the world as well as fresh local abalone and seasonal produce and meats from the heart of California farm country. Bill grew up in Van Nuys, Calif., and graduated from Grant High School. He was an accomplished athlete, excelled as a middle linebacker and was the Captain of the varsity football team. He enjoyed many activities, including scuba diving, skiing, racquetball, tennis and photography, however, his true passion was in the culinary arts. Bill started working, literally when he was right out of diapers, at his father, Hans Hoppe''s, acclaimed Hoppe''s Old Heidelberg restaurant. He continued his exemplary culinary education and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1976. He then trained in Switzerland and Germany at the Seiler Hotel Mont Cravin in Zermatt, Hotel Post in Garmish Patenkirchen and the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage in Lausanne. He returned to his father''s restaurant in 1980 and ultimately moved to the Central California Coast in 1986 to raise his family in a great environment. Bill loved the people, the rugged beauty and the charm of the Central Coast, which offered him all of the ingredients he needed to fulfill his quest to develop a cuisine that would please the most refined and discriminating palates. Bill''s passion was his art and he cultivated a litany of unique and exotic foods and hand selected the wines to pair with his creations. His career on the Central Coast started as a chef at the Inn at Morro Bay. He then opened Hoppe''s at 901 in Morro Bay in 1989, Hoppe''s at Marina Square and Hoppe''s Bistro in Morro Bay in 1996, Hoppe''s Garden Bistro in Cayucos in 2001 and Hoppe''s Old Cayucos Bakery in Cayucos in 2010. Bill married Tina Edwards in 1986 and they had two beautiful daughters, Elizabeth Marian in 1986 and Ilse Alexandra in 1992. Bill was a devoted father and loved his daughters more than anything in the world! Bill is survived by his mother, Ilse Hoppe; brothers Stuart, Robert and Rainer; sister, Shirley; and numerous nieces and nephew. He was preceded in his death by his father, Hans Hoppe, who died in August 2009. A celebration of Bill''s life will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20, 2010, at Hoppe''s Garden Bistro. A private memorial will be held at the Arroyo Grande Cemetery. Although Bill will be missed by his family, countless friends and his colleagues, his legacy will live on through each of you who knew him and will be celebrated in perpetuity at his Garden Bistro and new Bakery in Cayucos ''" we look forward to seeing you there! In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity.