Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Saying Good-bye to a Writer and Gourmet and Cooking For a Funeral

The Odessa Record Newspaper
My great uncle Don passed away yesterday at 85. Not only was he a journalist, he was also quite the gourmand. Not until I was in college did we both realize we had a lot in common. I too had a writing itch along with a culinary goal. For years, he had written for the Stars and Stripes in France and also took cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu. I too graduated college with a journalism degree and later graduated from culinary school. Until he couldn't any more, he was the Editor in Chief of the Odessa Record, the small weekly paper of a tiny town of 1,000 people.

We never really cooked together but we have spent time discussing food and looking through cook books and talking about France. Last week I sent him a copy of Eat and Drink in the Northwest and I signed it "To one chef and writer from another." I hope he had a chance to see it.

Roughly 200 people are expected to turn out in his honor at the funeral for him on Saturday. Food is always appreciated in times like this and with so many people expected to pay tribute, I'll be making a couple berry cobblers. Warm, sweet and full of comfort.

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