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this terribly sad news is mentioned elsewhere under a different topic, but i feel abby deserves her own thread. i cant find any information yet on her death, other than it happened this morning. possibly she knew she was sick and that explains why she handed over the reins of the green city market this year. if anyone know more, i hope they'll share it. she was an important figure in the chicago food world and a nice person. i'll never forget the first summer market she organized, held at navy pier many years ago. i was there early, fortunately, as most of the food for sale disappeared almost immediately. a sign of the promising future for the market which then moved to the grounds of ravinia, before ending up in lincoln park, renamed the green city market. justjoan

Abby had been fighting a battle with lymphoma since at least last Summer. In July, she began spending the majority of her time in NY with her daughter and her husband so she could be treated at Sloan Kettering. She'd been back and forth since the market opened, keeping as active and involved in the management as she could. The last time that I saw her, while she looked thinner than usual, she was spirited. The arrangements will be sent out to the farmers, chef supporters and volunteers shortly. While this isn't a shock, given the nature of the disease, it is a very very sad day for Chicago. Having worked with Abby on market matters, I will miss her very deeply. I know that I am not alone in saying that she was a great inspiration. And when I can stop crying, I plan to have a glass of wine to toast the legacy that she created for this city and the people who live in it.

Being a bit older than most of you my memory of Abby Mandel goes back to the late 70's, early 80's when she represented and demonstrated Cuisinart Food Processors. She wrote books using it and showed shortcuts for its uses. I have to say she taught me the ins and outs of Cuisinart which led me to be able to demonstrate it at my store. I miss her column in the Trib as the recipes were usually very good. I know she worked hard on Green City Market and she will be missed.
Paulette

I actually just tracked down her 1996 book Celebrating the Midwestern Table on Amazon, which arrived last Thursday - it's quite good. I plan to cook a meal from it this weekend in her honor.

In the next few weeks, there are a few market events that will also honor Abby's memory and legacy. On September 7, Bill Kurtis and Donna La Pietra will be hosting the Chef's Supper in the Country. And on September 24, there will be a party to mark the end of the localvore challenge at the Notebaert Nature Museum (more details forthcoming). These will certainly be bittersweet without Abby's presence, but still a great way to celebrate her life.

From Dish.

I still have clippings from her Trib columns on food processor cooking. This is indeed a sad day.

paulette and Diannie, I too, to got to know Abby Mandel's work during the 80's as a subscriber to Pleasures of Cooking, (a magazine published by Cuisinart) and, like you, I've saved the issues all these years.

I didn't know Abby Mandel but I've owned and cooked from Celebrating the Midwestern Table for at least 7 or 8 years. It came to our offices as a review copy and I snagged it up as soon as I could. When my mother moved to Atlanta, she really missed midwestern food and was especially excited when I sent her Abby Mandel's Chicken Vesuvio recipe. You just don't see a lot of Vesuvio in Atlanta. The cookbook is just filled with recipes that reflect the soul of the midwest -- and the heart of its author.

I wish I had known her. I'm glad I know the Green City Market and it sounds as if it was Abby Mandel too.

For those of you who knew her -- I'm sorry for your loss. As a Chicagoan who never met her except in a wonderful cookbook -- it's obvious we've lost someone very special.

I had the great pleasure of working with Ms. Mandel a few years ago at one of the "Best of the Midwest Harvest" festivals held at Ravinia. She was a lovely person, and a real live wire - what a bundle of energy. Her contributions to the food scene in Chicago were huge, and she will be hugely missed.