Along with most everyone else in the food/restaurant industry and more pointedly, everyone in the culinary arts, I was shocked to hear the news this morning that Chef Charlie Trotter has died. 

I did not know him well, but the few times I was in his company he was always gracious and accommodating of my questions, of which there were many. I have eaten in his restaurants at least a dozen times and was never disappointed, indeed I was always impressed not only with the quality of the fare, but also with the presentation and service. He had a well-deserved reputation as a perfectionist (some might say tyrant) but one only has to enumerate the number of top chefs and restaurateurs who have passed through his tutelage and graduated to their own careers, to realize the great impact he had on the world of culinary art. His impact has been immense and he will be sorely missed.

R.I.P. Charlie Trotter