Culinary players remember Norma Shirley

Thursday, November 04, 2010

THE sudden passing of culinary doyenne, Norma Shirley, has sent ripples of shock throughout the food and hospitality industry as food practitioners she inspired, friends she made, and those in her social circle reacted to the unexpected death of a woman considered "the grand dame of Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine."

The common thread in the recollections of Shirley was effusive praise by all crediting the substantial influence she made in the way Jamaican cuisine is perceived, at home and internationally.

Red Bones proprietor Evon Williams is beside himself with disbelief. "To say I'm devastated is an understatement," he notes. Williams' association with the late celebrated chef goes back many years and he points out that she was actually most instrumental in initial discussions and finalising the menu of Red Bones before the restaurant opened.

"She was synonymous with Caribbean cuisine," he praises, adding: "I don't think there are persons with the originality she came with...so there will be a gap for some time."

Bemoaning the loss of a friend and mentor, Williams further notes: "there is no upshot [with her passing] ... she was as good a restaurateur as she was a teacher, but I think where the problem truly lies is that many of those she taught went overseas and are in hotels, so who will take her place?"

For Josef Forstmayr, General Manager of Round Hill Hotel, Shirley represented "a good friend and an inspiration on many levels." He remembers most the unbridled zeal she exhibited for food and her ability "to inspire people to perform the level of highest service, whether in the kitchen or serving at the table."

Forstmayr, an Austrian national, says his personal relationship with the deceased fostered a desire within him to feel greater kinship for Jamaica.

"Norma inspired me to be passionate about all things Jamaican and always be proud...she was always positive and loved her country dearly," he notes.

Meanwhile MarBlue hotelier, Axel Wichterich, choked up as he reflected on the lady whose "special honour and character" he would miss most of all. He recalls it was barely three weeks ago he had made enquiries of her regarding leeks and Kobe beef, which she sourced and bought for him.

The hotelier opines that Shirley was a visionary by virtue of the fact "she changed a lot of the Jamaican culinary art, how she prepared the food and the taste she infused it with."

"From a culinary standpoint, Norma paid her dues," remarks Dennis McIntosh, Head of the Jamaican Culinary Federation. He points out that while the culinary scene in Jamaica is only just beginning to recognise quality food, Shirley had long been raising the bar in the perception and presentation of food.

Equally ruing Shirley's death was Nancy McLean, hotel manager of the Jamaica Pegasus, who had developed a professional rapport through sitting alongside her other on an advisory board for the University of Technology's Food and Hospitality Department.

"We've lost a tremendous talent," laments McLean, "in regards to culinary styling and flair, she had it." The Pegasus manager says, though Shirley has transitioned from the earthly realm, the invaluable contribution she made to Jamaican cuisine will long have its impact.

Although jolted by the news, Susie Hanna, principal owner of Susie's Bakery, has nothing but fond memories to share. 'We became good friends over the course of the years. I was a little upstart in the food business and she spent so much time talking to me, giving me advice and encouragement. She treated me like an equal, which I knew I was not," Hanna says.

Hanna lauds the skilled culinary hands and keen sense of appetising creativity of Shirley: "She could take any ingredient or something ordinary and turn it into an extraordinary meal."

Table Talk Food Awards judge and Jamaica Observer director, Gassan Azan hails Shirley's creativity and individuality as her primary assets. Having adjudicated alongside the respected chef for the annual food event, Azan reveals he spoke with her two weeks earlier after she called him while shopping at MegaMart to query a small appliance she looking to purchase but could not find in the store.

"We've lost a tremendous resource," he laments.

Shirley, he discloses, played a key role in fashioning the menu offerings and appearance of the MegaMart food courts. The business titan, who lists a sea bass meal he enjoyed at Norma's on the Terrace as one of his favourite meals prepared by the world renowned chef, hails her as "one of the nicest people to work with and she possessed a vibrant perspective."

The favourite memory of Shirley for Odette Nixon-Neath, another Table Talk Food Awards judge, was her appearance on the TV show Great Chefs of the Caribbean.

"There she was, going through the motions of making, I think it was curried lobster, and her commis made a misstep, plating the dish in a way that was not to her liking. She was having none of it -- camera or no camera. In one quick move, Norma chided the commis, swept the pan from his hand, and went on to complete the plating with a flourish." Nixon-Neath says the act was a definitive expression of Norma, as she had no time for mediocrity or the ordinary. "She expected everyone to come snuff and pinch above it," she adds.

Addressing the legacy left in her wake, Nixon-Neath salutes Shirley's insistence on the need "to celebrate our Jamaican-ness."

"It was in her food, in her styling and certainly in her relationships with small farmers and independent producers," she says.

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Culinary players remember Norma Shirley