Handsome actor Jon-Eric Hexum enjoys good food but is not exactly a cook. He ate a hearty lunch of split pea soup, lobster and pasts dressed with a pungent basil-flavored butter sauce and fresh blueberries for dessert at La Serre, popular French restaurant in Studio City.

“I can cook on TV.” he said quietly. “do you know what an Alabama Banana Flyer is?” the blue-eyed actor with sun-streaked hair said. (Fans call him a “hunk” which he richly deserves, but there is much more to the man.) “Basically, it’s a blender drink made with protein powder (food supplement), half milk, half whipping cream, blueberries, raisins, honey, granola and nutmeg,” he said. Hexum once prepared the concoction during a TV appearance on a local talk show in Los Angeles.

“I can eat quite a bit, as you can see. I try to eat a healthy diet. I don’t drink (he opted for orange juice before lunch). I avoid eating excessive amounts of dairy products and red meat. I eat fruit or drink fruit juice for breakfast, eat lots of steamed vegetables and take vitamins. I go running every day or ride my bike, and go to the gym every other day. And I try not to smoke.” For lunch or dinner, he likes fish or chicken or salads.

He has never entertained in his small house in Burbank. “My house is almost empty - I have no furniture. I’ve never entertained any of my friends there. I have never even cooked on the stove except to make coffee.”

Hexum is the first generation of his family born in America; his parents are both from Norway. He grew up in Englewood, N.J. and graduated from Tenafly High School. He rated his mother “not such a good cook,” and he could not attest for the cooking prowess of his chef father as he hasn’t seen him in years.

Strangely, Hexum’s turned off by Norwegian food: “Too much fish and cheese,” he said. He has made trips to Norway to visit relatives. “Norwegian food isn’t very exciting. However, I love any kind of pizza. I was in Italy last summer but didn’t have time to try the pizza. It was amazing. All I did was pack and unpack. I would try to sleep, then go to work.” This fall he will be starring in CBS-TV’s new series “Cover Up”, as a James Bon/Indiana Jones type private investigator who poses as a male model to conduct his undercover work.

Hexum has done some publicity shots for foreign publications and traveled mainly in France, Italy and the Netherlands. “there is so much out there to see and discover,” he said. “It is hard when you have t get up and go to work.” During a three-day visit to southern France he was amazed at the amount of food consumed by Europeans, especially the French.

“We stayed in a resort in southern France, and had Monsieur Gerard (the famous French chef who has popularized nouvelle French cuisine) cook all our food. He served us 18 different courses. I didn’t plan to eat anything, but everyone kept urging me to ‘try this’ or ‘try that’. I tried it and ended up eating every meal. I mean I was crazy. It was wonderful stuff. They had fabulous pastries, tarts and caramel pears. How those people ate! I guess they don’t eat like that all the time, though.”

After lunch, Hexum bypassed the luscious array of desserts at La Serre, well displayed in front of the restaurant. “I would like to have some blueberries,” he said. “Do you have any skimmed milk>“ The waiter reeled off the choices: “Regular milk, half-and-half and whipping cream.” Hexum quickly settled for regular milk. “I love blueberry pie,” he said, “or cheesecake.”

Hexum’s entry into show business got off to a slow start because he first enrolled in college with the intention of getting a doctor’s degree in bio-medical engineering. He soon switched to philosophy and economics, graduating in 1980 form Michigan State. His college time and attempts to play Big-Ten football taught him tremendous perseverance and discipline.

“I warmed the bench for three years and played only occasionally. We played from 6 to 8 in the morning, attended classes and were on the football field at 3 o’clock and practiced until 6:30. Dinner was at 7:30, followed by movies and class and we were out by 9. We had to be in bed by 11. It was very intense but very exciting. I remember when we played Wyoming. We had TV coverage with all the sportswriters there, the band and a crowd of 86,000 people. It was so exciting. The frustration of not playing I will carry to my grave. Competition was tough, by many of my friends went on to play with the pros.”

Hexum hit New York to pursue and acting career, but found it tough to land the kind of roles he wanted. On the advice of his manager (Robert Le Mond, who also managed John Travolta), he turned down two Broadway shows, several TV development deals and two soap operas to come West to break into movies and TV.

One thing that has helped him most is to avoid taking rejection personally. “You can do these things if you don’t let your ego get out of whack,” he said.

Recipes for Hexum’s blueberry pie and Alabama Banana Flyer follow.