COOK FOOD GOOD - Blogging BDL's Cookbook
A Great Cook. A Great Friend
Craig Bodenhorn passed away a couple of days ago. Craig was a close friend, an energetic political activist, and a brilliant chef.
I met Craig almost a dozen years ago in an online politics chatroom, he was funny, charming, knowledgeable, all the good things. We shared a similar political outlook, and had very similar reactions to the other chatters we met in shared rooms. We became virtual friends quickly.
We became real friends when we started talking about food.
For a lot of reasons, most of them related to his deteriorating health, Craig spent a good deal of his last decade online. He had a lot of nicks, and if you ever chatted on MSN you may even have known him as “Blackdog” or “Hollywood Kid.” It’s not easy to be a legendary chatter – but there you go.
Craig culinary start was north-eastern “fine-dining,” in the late sixties. Back in the day, “fine-dining” was pretty much synonymous with “continental,” a cuisine which was ossified even before it became moribund. He got over it pretty quickly though. When I met him, he’d cooked through a lot of influences and was a strong practitioner and exponent of dressed up American regional. It’s fair to say he was at the forefront of “New American Bistro.”
He was early, he was solid and he was creative. Unfortunately for cooking, he wasn’t as influential as he might have been. He never quite made it to “celebrity chef,” he never wrote anything, he didn’t become a chef/owner until just before he fell ill and had to retire, and he was cooking out of Indianapolis.
To heck with everyone else. He changed my cooking for the better. Without him I never would have made sense out of the disaparate influences in my own, poor, bag of tricks.
In fact, the idea of my intended book came out of conversations with Craig. Indeed, it was first intended to be a collaboration, but he was unable to participate as much as either of us would have liked.
Craig became very ill around the turn of the new century; at about the same time he lost all his money through a fraudulent partnership. He moved away from Indiana to Oregon. With the assistance of a few friends who helped him obtain State’s assistance, and the largesse of another, he overcame some of the difficulties imposed by poverty. Unfortunately his illness was not to be denied. In the end, death came as a friend.
He is missed.
To my friends at Chef Talk, you have some big shoes to fill.
Thanks for the shoulder,
BDL
I met Craig almost a dozen years ago in an online politics chatroom, he was funny, charming, knowledgeable, all the good things. We shared a similar political outlook, and had very similar reactions to the other chatters we met in shared rooms. We became virtual friends quickly.
We became real friends when we started talking about food.
For a lot of reasons, most of them related to his deteriorating health, Craig spent a good deal of his last decade online. He had a lot of nicks, and if you ever chatted on MSN you may even have known him as “Blackdog” or “Hollywood Kid.” It’s not easy to be a legendary chatter – but there you go.
Craig culinary start was north-eastern “fine-dining,” in the late sixties. Back in the day, “fine-dining” was pretty much synonymous with “continental,” a cuisine which was ossified even before it became moribund. He got over it pretty quickly though. When I met him, he’d cooked through a lot of influences and was a strong practitioner and exponent of dressed up American regional. It’s fair to say he was at the forefront of “New American Bistro.”
He was early, he was solid and he was creative. Unfortunately for cooking, he wasn’t as influential as he might have been. He never quite made it to “celebrity chef,” he never wrote anything, he didn’t become a chef/owner until just before he fell ill and had to retire, and he was cooking out of Indianapolis.
To heck with everyone else. He changed my cooking for the better. Without him I never would have made sense out of the disaparate influences in my own, poor, bag of tricks.
In fact, the idea of my intended book came out of conversations with Craig. Indeed, it was first intended to be a collaboration, but he was unable to participate as much as either of us would have liked.
Craig became very ill around the turn of the new century; at about the same time he lost all his money through a fraudulent partnership. He moved away from Indiana to Oregon. With the assistance of a few friends who helped him obtain State’s assistance, and the largesse of another, he overcame some of the difficulties imposed by poverty. Unfortunately his illness was not to be denied. In the end, death came as a friend.
He is missed.
To my friends at Chef Talk, you have some big shoes to fill.
Thanks for the shoulder,
BDL
Total Comments 1
Comments
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BDL, I'm saddened to hear about the loss of your good friend. Like many things we experience in life, the time is often too short. It's truly a gift when you realize the gift you have before it's taken away. Congratulations to both of you...I'm so glad that you had the chance to meet
To be selfish for a second or two...I'm so grateful for ChefTalk and all of it's members that it's difficult to put into words my gratitude. The patience that many of the more knowledgeable members have with some of us at home cooks is what makes ChefTalk such an asset to many of us. I believe this speaks volumes for not only yourselves, but also the people who have shaped who you are and how you treat others.
Before today I had no idea who Craig Bodenhorn was. Now, I have no doubt that he has influenced my life as well...through you.
Thanks for taking the time to share!
danPosted 10-19-2009 at 10:21 PM by gonefishin
