Seattle’s restaurant industry has lost two well-known chefs who contributed to community service with their food.
Wayne Johnson used to be a chef at Andaluca and Ray’s Boathouse, but he is best known for his mentoring work at FareStart, a nonprofit that helps people escape homelessness with cooking and life skills.
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Johnson retired last year. He died earlier this month after a short illness.
Laura Connelly, a graduate who later returned to become sous chef, remembered Johnson’s “light.”
“It’s very difficult to explain,” Connelly said, “but he radiates warmth and light that I don’t meet with many people who have that right away.”
Connelly said Johnson cared about the people he worked with, took the time to answer questions and dropped whatever he was doing to help. And in doing so, she said, Johnson paved the way for many graduates.
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Many leading local chefs have participated in FareStart’s guest chef night to work with students and raise funds for the program.
One of them was Tamara Murphy, chef and co-owner of Terra Plata on Capitol Hill in Seattle.
Murphy was a James Beard Award winner and helped shape Seattle’s dining scene when she opened Brasa in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood in 1999. She died Saturday evening from the effects of a stroke.
Holly Smith, chef and owner of Café Juanita, worked with Murphy at Brasa. Murphy’s distinguished career included competing in the Bocuse d’Or, the culinary industry’s Olympic equivalent. Smith said Murphy has a way of communicating that made her a better cook.
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“She had this great way of explaining things like salinity. She would always say, ‘You have to get it to the point where it vibrates,'” Smith said. “I do the same thing now when I explain it to people.”
Smith said Murphy was tireless and often used that passion to advocate for small farmers, LGBTQ rights and other causes. Smith often worked with her at those events.
“I would never say no to Tamara, no matter what she asked for,” she said. “I don’t know anyone who could turn her down, and that’s why she was so good at building communities.”
Plans to honor both Murphy and Johnson are still in the works.
