Anyone who did not personally know celebrated Jamaican chef Norma Shirley would have learnt from the moving tributes being paid to her, and which we have been publishing since her sudden passing on Monday, that she was deeply loved and respected by many people.

“A meal was not just about ‘a plate of food’, it was to be an experience to delight all the senses,” wrote Ms Sonia Mills.

“Norma was a stickler for excellence and contributed immensely to raising the standards of culinary fare in Jamaica and exposing Jamaican cuisine to the world,” said Peter Bunting, who served on the Observer Food Awards panel of judges with Ms Shirley.

“…it was her ability to ‘reinvent’ herself and teach others, which inspired me,” said Ms Carmen Tipling.

“Her love for our country kept her here, although international fame could have taken her to foreign lands, to capitalise on her talents in the culinary arena,” wrote Mrs Laurel deMercado.

Ms Rosemary Parkinson offered this gem from her author’s note in a biography she’s writing on Norma Shirley: “In her own very creative way, she has fought for her culinary independence like a liberator fighting for the land of her forefathers, and in so doing, has made a deep mark in Caribbean cuisine…”

Ms Shirley’s business partner Mr Evon Williams told us she was “synonymous with Caribbean cuisine”, while Mr Josef Forstmayr, an Austrian hotelier who has lived in Jamaica for years and who runs the cashmere chic Round Hill Hotel and Villas, said Ms Shirley inspired him “to be passionate about all things Jamaican and (to) always be proud”.

Mrs Susie Hanna, principal owner of Susie’s Bakery, gave us a glimpse of Ms Shirley’s willingness to share her knowledge and expertise, even with a competitor. Ms Shirley, she said, spent many hours talking to and encouraging her at the time of her entry into the food industry.

“She treated me like an equal, which I knew I was not,” said Mrs Hanna.

We could easily fill this space — and much, much more — with the comments of those in the food business who had come to know and appreciate Norma Shirley. Such is the respect she enjoys among her peers who are still in shock at her passing.

This newspaper in particular shared a special relationship with Ms Shirley, as she was instrumental in the staging of our annual Observer Table Talk Food Awards from the outset, 12 years ago.

It was no wonder then, that in 2003 — the food awards having grown to become the premier event of its kind in Jamaica and the Caribbean, and given her tremendous contribution to the growth and the exposure of Jamaican cuisine worldwide — we thought it only fitting to present Norma Shirley with the Observer Chairman’s Award for excellence in an industry that can be as fickle as it is exciting.

To us, Norma Shirley was more than an ambassador for Jamaica and Jamaican cuisine. She was testament to what is good about this country and an example of the rewards we all can reap from hard work and a commitment to perfection.

But even as we mourn her passing, we do so with satisfaction that hers was a life well spent and that her selflessness has kept Jamaican cuisine on par with the world’s best.

The greatest tribute that we as a country could pay to her, we believe, is to insist upon and maintain the standards she has set, not only in the food industry, but in all our endeavours.

Wherever she is now, we are sure, Norma Shirley will be cooking up a storm.