Leigh Talmadge Back in the Dark Ages, the early '70s when the only restaurant in Columbia that didn't overcook the vegetables was Kester's Bamboo House on Harden Street, Le Petit Chateau opened for business on Devine Street. The Market on Assembly Street was still open, and the steak sandwich at Cogburn's was the best selling item in town.

Leigh Talmadge was learning the business then, and his best opportunity in town for a culinary education was at Le Petit Chateau. That was over three decades ago, but Talmadge still knows what he learned then and every day since. Today, he is a partner at the Hampton Street Vineyard, a few steps down behind Sylvan's.

Talmadge was born in South Amboy on the New Jersey shore. His father worked for Ford Motor Company as an assembly plant supervisor. While he was still a little kid, Talmadge heard Westinghouse appliances stories instead of tales of Ford cars because his father shifted his career to run a Westinghouse assembly plant.

Talmadge's mother was an interior decorator. His sister Lynn is one year older. She graduated USC as an art major, and it was her introductions at Le Petit Chateau that put Talmadge on track.

After kindergarten and grammar school at Lincroft Elementary, Talmadge went through Middletown Junior High and High School. At 14, Talmadge began working in a restaurant, the Molly Pitcher Inn, where he got all the dirty work. He was the immigrant guy, essentially. It was a five- mile bike ride from home, so Talmadge took early lessons in choosing tight proximity between home and work.

While in high school, Talmadge learned to surf competitively. Sponsored by California surfboard maker Dewey Weber, Talmadge's team would travel from New Jersey to the competition at Virginia Beach, Cape Hatteras, and even into Florida.

After high school graduation, Talmadge stayed with his surfing and went to Brevard Community College in Brevard County, Florida, near Cocoa Beach and near the NASA compound. Talmadge surfed at the top of his class. Among college competitions, surfers were ranked as 1- A, 2- A, 3- A, and in California they had surfers ranked 4- A, but there was only one 4- A surfer on the East Coast. His name was Michael Tabling, and he was also one of Talmadge's mentors.

Besides surfing and academics, Talmadge kept up with his kitchen knowledge, too. He worked for a vegetarian restaurant in Cocoa Beach.

In the late '70s, after his stint with Le Petit Chateau, Talmadge moved to Sausalito, Marin County, California. Talmadge, the natural- born hedonist, fit right in. He worked for Richardson's on the Bay.

Talmadge and his boat- owning buddy lived on a 40- foot sailboat in the Sausalito City Marina. When he wasn't working at Richardson's, Talmadge would take study trips into the Napa Valley wine country, and he would learn during lunches at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse, the food pilgrims' destination in Berkeley. Always across the bay, of course, was downtown San Francisco, arguably America's food capital for a city its size.

After his father died, Talmadge returned to New Jersey and spent more than six months restoring his mother's house, getting it ready for sale. His mother took the house proceeds and moved to Florida.

Talmadge returned to Columbia and to Le Petit Chateau where he was the head cook until it was sold.

He then went to work full- time in the wine business. His customer base was anchored by Myrtle Beach. He sold for Associated Wines up and down the Grand Strand, while he lived in Garden City and Litchfield Beach.

After 14 years in the wine business, Talmadge teamed up with Bill Murphy and Paul Pittinger. They took longer than they had planned, and renovated the place finally opening the doors at Hampton Street Vineyard in December 1995.

Talmadge met his wife, real estate broker Michelle Thompson, at Pawleys Island where she was working with Talmadge's sister Lynn at Frank's restaurant.

Talmadge and Thompson run Hampton Vineyard with partner Murphy. Pittinger pulled out. They work six days a week, and they rest every Sunday. The restaurant is open for lunch five days a week and for dinner six.