In 1999, Chef Peter Kuenzi set out to offer discerning Fox Valley residents fresh, fast urban gourmet fare to suit their busy lives and cosmopolitan tastes. Thus arose Zuppas Café, Market and Catering, where Kuenzi, a native of Oshkosh, Wis., prepares sophisticated cuisine for individuals and corporations throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Trained at the famed Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Kuenzi developed his signature style while cooking at upscale restaurants in Marco Island, Fla., and Chicago in the late 1980s.

Kuenzi returned to Northeast Wisconsin in 1992 to serve as executive chef for the Oshkosh Power Boat Club. With a loyal following of diners drawn to his unique offerings, Kuenzi pursued his next venture in 1996 — co-founding The Seasons, a chic restaurant in Appleton, Wis. Three years later, Kuenzi opened Zuppas — Italian for “soup” — in downtown Neenah’s Marketplace building. His creative cuisine attracted a growing customer base, and in 2003, Kuenzi relocated Zuppas to its current home in Neenah’s Shops at Mahler Farms on S. Commercial Street. Kuenzi appears regularly on Fox 11 WLUK-TV’s “Living with Amy,” sharing recipes and cooking tipsacross Northeast Wisconsin. He also has taught popular cooking classes at Appleton’s Williams-Sonoma and is a preferred caterer at upscale venues in the Fox Cities and beyond, including the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Homestead Meadows and the Gardens of the Fox Cities in Appleton as well as The Waters and The Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh.