SAPHRON RESTAURANT

Here in our corner of the world, we entertain guests! This is where we feel vibrant and most at home. We gladly welcome our guests and then very happily feed them fabulous, luscious food (smile). Saphron is home to a talented, creative, detail-oriented staff who emphasize superlative customer service. We work together to create a warm, friendly atmosphere that keeps our guests coming back time and time again. A few, very special restaurants have the magic to transport you to another time and place, to set a mood that makes the dining experience as memorable as the food itself.......... Saphron Restaurant is such a place! The ambiance in the restaurant even transports you back to a time and place of genteel conversation and simple loveliness. The restaurant zealously promotes community involvement. One of the ways we do so is through loyal patronage of our local growers and of wineries from the greater Southern Maryland area. We are also deeply appreciative of the brave citizens of our beloved country who risk their lives in service to us all. We choose to honor their bravery and dedication by offering a continuous 10% food discount to guests presenting a military or law enforcement ID. At this restaurant, we truly care about our patrons. We therefore are particular about following the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines for meat, seafood and all food preparation in general.

OWNER OF SAPHRON, CHARLEEN OBAL

Charleen Obal, owner of Saphron Restaurant, was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, the fifth child in a family of nine children. After graduating from high school, Charleen enlisted in the US Army and served eight years, with postings in West Germany and South Korea. Charleen has since travelled extensively throughout the United States and Europe. She received her Bachelor’s degree from SUNY, New Paltz in upstate New York. She is married and is the mother of two children, Kathryn and John. John is currently stationed in Afghanistan with the US Army. Charleen has also been an elementary school teacher in Prince George’s County and is an enthusiastic volunteer and supporter in many community activities. Charleen Obal is a visionary and a dreamer.  She had the courage, the focus and the determination to pursue her passion, cooking AND her goal of one day owning a very successful restaurant. Everyday, she realizes this vision and she loves every minute of the long hours she puts in at the restaurant. A warm, vibrant force of extreme energy, she never stays still and she never says die! These are some of the wonderful qualities that help define this extraordinary woman. Everything she does, she does with excellence. It's one of the running jokes amongst Charleen's friends that she's "excellence in motion" Charleen emphatically maintains that her cooking skills, her love of good food and all people in general, is because of her kind, generous-hearted and compassionate mother who raised all her children to give the same selfless love to others. The Fried Chicken on Saphron's lunch and dinner menu is one such remembrance of a much loved mother, Miss Rosa, who Charleen both loved and adored. After years of summer vacations on Solomon's Island, the Obal family decided to make Prince Frederick their home and made the move to Calvert County in 2003. Saphron Restaurant opened in 2007, in Prince Frederick, to loud acclaim and the heartfelt appreciation of lovers of great food everywhere; much to Charleen's utter delight and joy. Saphron made its permanent move in June, 2010 to a lovely and more befitting location and address, the Old Field House on Main Street.

CHEF de CUISINE

Chef Toun is as modest and as private as they come. She's not that comfortable being called "Chef" even though she has very much earned the title. After finishing her schooling, she travelled to different places, honing her cooking skills and learning from different Masters. Her ability to create sumptuous sauces is one of the technical skills she picked up under the tutelage of Master Sauciers. Her baking skill she learned as a child at her Aunt's knees, who herself was trained in Europe and owned a bakery back home. The rest came from 30 yrs of cooking, running her own Catering Company and working as a Private Chef in Los Angeles, California. She's been told on more than one occasion by admirers and partakers of her wonderful cooking that "She makes dirt taste good". THAT we leave up to you to decide, of course (smile). Yet we can't help but believe that you will indeed agree with every one who has had the pleasure of eating a meal prepared by Chef Toun that she truly has a "knack" for cooking really delicious, warm-the-cockles-of-your-heart food!