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I Will Miss Them

While I was in California, my daughter woke me up with the news that Anthony Bourdain had killed himself the night before in France.

I had met him twice—once at Les Halles, his restaurant in New York City just a few weeks after his first book, Kitchen Confidential, came out. We were going to be in the city and I suggested we try Les Halles and brought my copy of the book with me. The place was mobbed, the food was incredible, and Bourdain, all in black and thin as a shadow, was nice enough to sign my book.

He spoke at the library in Madison after his second book came out. Someone (not me) asked how Bourdain’s wife Nancy Putkoski put up with his drinking, drugging, and general rowdiness.

He thought about the question for a few seconds, then said, “Let me put it this way: Nancy was driving the getaway car.”

When Bourdain died, he had separated from his second wife, and left a very sad girlfriend and a preteen daughter. He was 61.

In July, Madeleine Kamman, a cookbook author and a marvelous restaurant chef, died at her son’s home in Vermont at the age of 87, after suffering the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. The second restaurant I ever reviewed was Chez la Mere Madeleine in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Thinking myself pretty sophisticated, I ordered sweetbreads. I’d had it once, sliced and sautéed, and topped with a sauce. What arrived that night was a gland or two, no sauce, just glands. Maybe poached? Maybe sautéed. I ate it, barely. It was the beginning of cuisine nouvelle or minceur. I realized I had a lot to learn about food.

Also in July, Jonathan Gold, the restaurant reviewer whose love of food, Los Angeles, and his family shone through in his work, died three weeks after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, at the age of 57. There has never been a restaurant reviewer who knew more about food and there will never will be as good a food writer as Gold. He was the first food writer to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

As I think about what the world has lost with these three deaths, summer continues. I think about these three as, solitary in the kitchen, I choose my ingredients, chop the vegetables, cook the meal, and wash the dishes. I sometimes think about them as I prepare to have company for dinner. A couple of weeks ago it was strip steaks from BJ’s (incredibly good strip steaks), fresh local tomatoes with mozzarella and fresh basil from my own little garden, potato salad, and a pineapple upside down cake with Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream. My company included good girlfriends, their beaus, and my very Republican nephew. Everybody behaved. When they all left, I washed the dinner dishes, took care of my good wine glasses and steak knives, and thought about what a nice evening it was.

And then again I thought about these three deaths, all three sad and all too soon. I will miss them the rest of my life.

Suicide is preventable. If you or someone you know might be considering suicide, you can get help by calling National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255, available 24 hours every day. For more information, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Lee’s Favorite Potato Salad

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

5 pounds of potatoes (russets or Yukon Gold, peeled and

cubed into bite-sized pieces, or red bliss cubed but

not peeled)

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

bottled Italian salad dressing (a good brand like

Newman’s Own or Wish-Bone; low-fat is fine)

salt and pepper to taste

Hellman’s mayonnaise (low-fat is fine)

In a large pot of water, bring potatoes to a boil and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.

Drain water and, in the same pot, toss potatoes with onions, celery, enough Italian dressing to give the potatoes flavor (about half a small bottle or a little more, to taste), a little salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Allow to cool on the counter at room temperature for at least an hour, preferably two.

When cool, gently fold in just enough mayonnaise to make the potatoes somewhat creamy. Spoon mixture into a nice serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.