RIP: Charlie Trotter

[vogelap]

Charlie Trotter was found unconscious and not breathing in his Chicago home today. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Trotter was 54.

More information: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-charlie-trotter-dead-20131105,0,3424072.story

Edited November 5, 2013 by vogelap (log)

[Toliver]

Click here for a link to the article.

Trotter burst on the scene in 1987, when the self-taught chef opened Charlie Trotter’s restaurant on Armitage Avenue. In short order, the chef’s intense creativity and never-repeat-a-dish dictum made Trotter’s the most talked-about restaurant in Chicago, and his fame quickly spread throughout the country and beyond.

He was named the country’s Outstanding Chef by James Beard Foundation in 1999; in 2000, Wine Spectator magazine called Trotter’s the best restaurant in the nation. More awards and accolades followed, including a 2002 Beard Award for Outstanding Service; at the time, Trotter called it the award he was most proud to receive, as it represented “a team award.”

My condolences to his family and friends. The restaurant world has lost a great one.

[rotuts]

They have indeed. as a Student of PBS shows, his were in their own realm. Intense. Stunning. A Craftsman.

[Unpopular Poet]

I have lived in and around Chicago for the better part of my life and I can say that in my opinion, Chicago would not be quite the culinary capital had Charlie Trotter not heard the call. He was a true pioneer that put Chicago on the map. My condolences to his family.

[patrickamory]

Only 54

[tim]

From Chicago's LTH Forum"

Hi- It was mentioned on channel 5 last night, that Sneed from the Sun Times has found out that he died from a stroke. Apparently he flew to NYC earlier this year, and suffered a mild stroke after he came back, and was told to avoid flying, and high altitudes. He flew to Jackson Hole this week for some sort of cooking event, and did not feel well when he returned.

Here is the link to the column.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/2358 ... troke.html

[chezcherie]

From Chicago's LTH Forum"

Hi- It was mentioned on channel 5 last night, that Sneed from the Sun Times has found out that he died from a stroke. Apparently he flew to NYC earlier this year, and suffered a mild stroke after he came back, and was told to avoid flying, and high altitudes. He flew to Jackson Hole this week for some sort of cooking event, and did not feel well when he returned.

Here is the link to the column.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/2358 ... troke.html

fwiw, his widow denies that this is the case. http://www.today.com/food/charlie-trotters-widow-recent-trip-didnt-contribute-death-chicago-chef-8C11566371

[huiray]

Cook County Medical Examiner has released his decision that he died from a stroke caused by his high blood pressure, and that there is no evidence that travel, drugs or alcohol was involved.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-medical-examiner-chef-charlie-trotter-died-of-a-stroke-20131125,0,6266117.story

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2013/11/25/charlie-trotter-died-of-a-stroke-medical-examiner-says.php

[huiray]

I have lived in and around Chicago for the better part of my life and I can say that in my opinion, Chicago would not be quite the culinary capital had Charlie Trotter not heard the call. He was a true pioneer that put Chicago on the map. My condolences to his family.

Trotter did indeed do great things for Chicago/Chicagoland in the culinary world but he was not the first to bring Chicagoland to national or international culinary prominence. It has been said that that person was Jean Banchet, at his Le Francais in Wheeling, IL (northern suburb of Chicago)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19811015&id=5QAtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Fc4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1421,3478078

http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/11/25/in-memoriam-jason-cevallos-jean-banchet

[Martin Fisher]

C'mon! It's an eulogy for goodness sake!!!!

[Unpopular Poet]

I'll make sure to footnote all condolences in the future.

[rotuts]

""" Chicago would not be quite the culinary capital had Charlie Trotter not heard the call. """

Exactly so.

[huiray]

I'll make sure to footnote all condolences in the future.

Of course that is not necessary.

Your tribute to Charlie Trotter was lovely and I would have been happy to have written it myself, except that I would have left out one sentence, the one that begins "He was a true pioneer..." for reasons that are alluded to in my previous post.

Charlie Trotter was a great man and chef and he did do a lot to place Chicago firmly on the culinary map, and I regret that he is no longer with us.

I'm sure he had also nominated many a chef for the Jean Banchet Awards, Chicago's version of the Beard Awards.

[Unpopular Poet]

Not that I want to belabor the point, but Charlie Trotter was a pioneer. Saying he wasn't would be tantamount to saying that Led Zeppelin were not pioneers, because the Rolling Stones were also from England. I suppose it depends on one's definition of pioneer. Doing something nobody else has done --- going where no one else has gone -- I suppose opening a restaurant in Wheeling would apply. But then again, so would having the first Prix Fixe menu in America.