Well, while we were taking our winter break, to my utter amazement and delight, a close friend of Barbara's wrote me a beautiful email after reading my blog and gave me a precis of Barbie's (as she's called) doings around the time of the book being published and in the years afterwards!
I thought you might be interested and amazed to hear this follow up story and I am writing this in the spirit of a tribute to Barbara Ross, who unwittingly became a guiding light along my life's journey that has led to my part in Angelica Organic Farm.
Front cover of Barbara's book:(pictured left to right):
Roger Verge, Guy Savoy,Pierre Troisgros,
Barbara Ross, Paul Bocuse & Jean-Marc Aubert
(Photograph: Jean-Marc Aubert)
I'm very sad to say that Barbara is no longer with us after succumbing to a sudden, cruel and fatal cancer illness at a far too young age, about 15 years ago. However, here are a few snippets from what her dear friend 'MC', wrote me and has graciously given me permission to quote from:
"Whatever culinary cloud she (Barbie) is flitting about at the moment, I know how thrilled she'd be to think that her book inspired you".
How wonderful is that, being able to receive such delightful feedback, all enabled by the magic of cyberspace?? We didn't even use the internet or email when I read The Chef's Table!
"During the time her book was at the publishers being edited, she started work for David Jones in 1985, setting up their Melbourne Food Hall."
The David Jones project and the sales of her book were a huge success and from there, Barbara became very successful and much sought after...
"By this time she'd established herself as the 'go-to girl' if you wanted to set up a food hall or eating complex, and she took on a number of projects around Australia over the next few years, including Southbank in Melbourne, which was the last of this type. The idea for the next book came at this time (1989), as a result of doing a prodigious amount of driving around the country. She wanted to do a food guide, based not on the best chefs and techniques, but of the best ingredients that could be found around Australia...She would have had a field day at your farm!"
The Chef's Table is a witty and very informative narrative about Barbara's journey in France working with some of the world's best chefs, dining at their chef's kitchen tables and along the way, celebrating an amazing array of the time honoured French provincial foods and wine and their skilled, passionate, artisan producers.
"She was a pioneer in large scale retail organic and 'clean' food, which would have made her doubly thrilled to know that she'd influenced an organic farmer. It was all about the ingredients."
Ironically, by the time Barbara had been exposed to the environmental toxins (and thought she'd had successful detox treatment), which ultimately caused the metastatic cancer that she was unaware was soon to take her life, "she'd pretty much become an organic vegetarian and anticipated her healthy lifestyle would help her recover".
One of the saddest things about Barbara's passing so young, is knowing from MCs precis, that Barbie had so much to live for, she had a lust for life, being extremely driven, talented and exuberant. At the same time it's great to know she had achieved and given so much and was very well loved. MC shared this anecdote:
"Barbie didn't know the meaning of the word 'moderation'. I'll never forget her 40th birthday party, held in the lane behind her house, it was a gypsy theme - she and I catered for 150 guests, I made her costume out of some of our old evening dresses, she hired a 15 piece gypsy band, and two of her neighbours gave impromptu performances. Those two neighbours were amongst the most popular musicians in Australia at the time - Joe Camilleri (from the Black Sorrows) and the jazz trumpeter and singer Vince Jones. Barbie brought out everyone's generosity."
There's innumerable food, 'foodie' and travel books in the marketplace these days of course and some very good, but to be honest, many that I have read tend to lack the same quality of depth and extent of understanding and authenticity that is so devotedly and accessibly portrayed in The Chef's Table. Certainly in regards to the actual ingredients/produce, and the reverence with which the top chefs create dishes from the food, Barbara had a real knack of conveying the information and people in an absorbing, meaningful and tangible kind of way.
"Your blog made me realise what a gap she's left in the world."
Here's a large cheers to Barbara Ross and the other special people (Elizabeth David is one who springs to mind for me!) who on their departure from our world have left a unique gap but whilst here have broadened our food and travel horizons and helped us to appreciate where our precious food comes from, how different cultures revere it and how we can make the most of the earth's and the growers' love's harvest. We give thanks that they even inspire us to pursue all kinds of crazy food-related endeavours ourselves!
If you want to try to track down a copy of The Chef's Table by Barbara Ross:
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 0-04-442221-0
First published: 1990
...and worth trying second-hand book stores.
P.S.: We would like to have noted here that we (me, Tim, Angelica Organic Farm) do not support the traditional French fois gras making methods, involving what we consider to be cruelty to the geese whose livers are 'cultivated'.
Comments
Post has no comments.