Charlie Abowd and Linda Marrone working the booth for Sassafrass at the annual Sassabration, one of their favorite fundraisers.
Courtesy
It’s a new year and I have to say I’m glad that 2024 is over and hoping that 2025 is a better year for me.
Losing your husband, grandson and best friend of 40 years (Charlie Abowd) takes a toll. There has been a lot said about Charlie as a chef, restauranteur and philanthropist, he was all those and more, but I want to focus on what a great friend he was.
Both of us grew up in the Bay Area and went to school there so we were familiar with a lot of places that we used to go and especially the food that was available, even back then. Our friendship grew when we had Marrone’s, and he was working as a bartender at Adele’s. Once I had a little more disposable income Adele’s became a favorite place to belly up to the bar and shoot the breeze with Charlie. There were a few times that I might have had too many cocktails, and Charlie would say “one of us has to go” and it was usually me. I worked for him making the desserts for Adele’s and even was the lunchtime hostess for a little while. I would be reprimanded if I called the outside seating a patio, he always corrected me, it’s a veranda!
I shopped for him every Wednesday afternoon at Shirley’s Farmers Market from June through September before the Curry Street FM opened on Saturday mornings when you would see Charlie and Karen there every week.
When you are in the business of food you know the best time to talk with Charlie is either before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m. and we had many early morning and late night conversations. We worked many fundraisers together and a lot of those involved feeding those less fortunate than ourselves. Those were the best times. Charlie was the most generous man and gave more to this community in so many ways that it would take pages and pages to list them all.
In 2003 I asked him if he would like to start writing a food column for the Nevada Appeal. These articles and pictures were the jump start for his cookbook. After they lost the restaurant Charlie started a serious discussion about writing one now that he had the time. I was honored that he included a ramble on me in his book “Recipes and Rambles.”
Last year in January, Charlie was the first guest featured in Sierra Chef’s Cookbook Club with three recipes from his cookbook. It was a difficult outing for me after Ralph had passed away and going with Charlie and Karen, actually cooking something and eating some delicious food was so comforting. So next Sunday I will be submitting three recipes and thinking about Charlie as we talk about the food and recipes we share and how sitting down and eating brings us together. As Charlie would say, “enjoy, enjoy.”
On a last note, if you are interested in attending the Cookbook Cooking Club e-mail cynthia @sierrachef.com and here’s how it works. She will e-mail you three recipes, and you choose one, prepare it and bring it next Sunday to the Cucina Campagna in Genoa. Everyone talks about the recipe they made, we all share in eating what was prepared and most important the fellowship of food.
So, here’s to my friend Charlie and how much he will be missed but he left us with lasting memories of so many meals shared at Adele’s, his wonderful cookbook and his testament that food can always bring us together.