circa 9/2012Stories of friendship often begin with an unlikely occasion but endure via one or more shared interests or passions. It is thus with my friendship with Roseann Tully. Ours began formally via one of two recipes that had occupied my heart and memory for a period of 5+ decades and had remained the objects of my yearning and searching. The memory of a small, dry and crumbly but unforgettable cookie, hinted with anise that my paternal Grandmother had baked for us on a regular basis when we were kids in the 1950s and 60s followed me around like a devoted puppy . Not being able to replicate the precise texture of that cookie known as sweet taralli, no matter how many iterations I tried, no matter how many relatives I combed, no matter how many Italian cookbooks I paged, led me to write a letter to Roseann Tully which she published in Volume 7 Issue 23 many moons ago. We had both, as it turns out, lost many a treasured recipe from our Grandmothers’ kitchens. Thus began our correspondence and friendship. *
I had already been a subscriber to Intermezzo Magazine for some time. Every element of this magazine projected an uniquely steadfast voice of quality, curiosity and individuality that mass market publications struggled to coalesce and maintain. As we have all come to know, from the individual desk of every singular food writer to the grand and vicious offices of power of multi-national publishing corporations, struggles have ignited, soared and burned to the ground as they fought the battle between the successful amalgamation of the creativite voice, desirable and inspiring content vs profit.
Shortly after our first in-person meeting in 2012 at the Newport Food and Wine Festival, Roseann graciously offered me the opportunity to participate in her endeavors during a lunch over lobster rolls. I was newly out of pastry school at ICE Culinary, “grandmother” of the class at age 58, had started my own blog and had written extensively during my prior corporate career. Alas however, I possessed none of the “street cred” the likes of those running in the halls of the publishing world, only the voice in my head that traveled to my fingertips. Roseann brought me in anyway and gave me a chance, a stunningly generous gift that was as uncommon as a four-leaf clover. I began by editing and eventually contributed a number of features and photographs. Roseann was the angel who opened a door for me that I yearned to enter in a decade when most are busy plumbing the options for their retirement years. My own mindset was of one just getting going and Roseann, happily, was fervent in her embracing of the value of “ageless” contributors.
Roseann and I, aside from sharing a passion for food, travel and our Italian heritage, also shared a love of our homes on Cape Cod and for a deep and enveloping passion for the city of Paris. We shared lobster rolls and omelets together at the Sesuit Harbor Café in Summers and dreamed of days in Paris. Roseann had studied there in her youth and I was a relative newcomer to the dazzling magic of the City of Lights. We shared our dreams of renting a flat, she sending me listings she secured for consideration during times, as it turned out, when the prospect of this was in reality, fleeting.
My visits to Paris,in 2016 and 9 week Summer stay in 2017, ironically became a treasure for us both as, at her request I attempted to pick up for her, a lost thread back to her time at Universite´de Paris, when she resided with her Maman Mme. Cap at 140 rue de Courcelles. This amazing story is documented here: /https://kitchen-inspirational.com/2017/07/20/kismet-en-paris-stars-came-together-meet-one-special-person/
Few people in the world knew of Roseann’s medical battles over the years when the unlikely captured and held her dreams all while treading the paces and demands of an independent publisher. Remarkably, she launched a second magazine, SIP For Love of Drink and won the Hottest 30 Magazine Launches of 2015, an achievement few ever see but accomplished by her while in the midst of her own serious troubles.
I write this post today in order to pay tribute to the memory of an extraordinary person, friend and mentor, a woman with the most remarkable strength, determination and faith to persevere through the battles of life. All of this was achieved while following her voice in the world of food and calling in others from around the world to speak. I am heartbroken that we have lost her at the young age of 66 years. Her contributions to the world of food publishing are extraordinary and will hopefully endure, for going it alone and succeeding when it is nearly unheard of, particularly in this time and circumstance. I will treasure every element of my memories of her dearly.
See you in Paris, Roseann. à bientôt!
*the second was the inimitable Honey Loaf from the Charleston Garden Bakery of B.Altman and Co. fame – a subject that has been covered many times on this blog