My 2023 Holiday Letter

December 2023

5 Alban Mews

New Albany, Ohio 43054
Email: roderickchu@att.net

A holiday note to my family, friends, and colleagues —

My 2023 has pretty much gone as predicted for this Year of the Rabbit: ”Our life style will be languid and leisurely as we allow ourselves the luxuries we have always craved for. A temperate year with unhurried pace. For once, it may seem possible for us to be carefree and happy without too many annoyances.” I’ve spent most of my year enjoying life in Central Ohio – and over 100 new and creative food dishes – with just a few trips to see family and friends and savoring time with those who came to visit me.

In February, my sister Laura Burke and I finally cleared out and sold our late Mom’s house. Now facing having to sort through and dispose of 3 garages filled with two lifetimes of accumulated stuff, I’ve recognized the wisdom of the advice to “collect experiences instead of stuff.” So I’ve been focused on indulging my love of good food and drink and been enjoying the great talents of my chef friends & neighbors. I look to the upcoming propitiousYear of the Dragon helping me tackle clearing out the stuff.

Sadly, this year also saw more of my family and friends tackle illnesses. I pray for their speedy recovery and look forward to seeing them soon and to sharing the good things in life with all.

My very best wishes to you and yours for a joyous holiday season and a healthy and happy 2024! Here’s hoping we’ll get to be together in the new year! 

Sincerely,
Rod

My blogs:     http://rchu.wordpress.com                                       http://www.choosygourmand.wordpress.com 

Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rodchu

My Travels

DEC’22: A lovely Christmas & NOV: Thanksgiving at Laura & David’s in Bolton, MA with Karen, Gianni, A.J. & Alexandra and Laura’s feasts, but we missed having Steven & Shari with us. JAN: Cornell Asian Alumni Assn. Banquet with Pres. Martha Pollock in NYC. Visit to Yeh-Yeh’s buildings at 73-77 Mott St. (all the heirs later sold & liquidated the 90+ year partnership). FEB: Moved the last boxes from Mom’s house in Briarcliff Manor and closed its sale. APR: NY Yankees’ Opening Week games with Bob & Linda Gorman & siblings in the Owners’ Box.

OCT: At Cornell for my Trustee-Council Annual Meeting with the Big Red Bear and iconic McGraw Tower under renovation. Update from Johnson College of Business Dean Andrew Karoli. Again luxuriated in being the houseguest of Joe & Marney Thomas, enjoying their Night Blooming Cereus (grown from Mom’s cutting), open access to their famed wine cellar, and lovely sunset dinners. Visited I.M. Pei’s iconic Johnson Museum of Art on its 50th Anniversary. Celebrated the induction of this year’s Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Award winners David Moriah & others with Dan Tillemans, Ezra Cornell, Ginger So, Harriet & Jay Waks, and other fellow prior awardees. Attended my first meeting as a member of the Cornell Botanic Gardens Advisory Board, looking forward to its planned Asian Summer Garden.

OCT: Between meetings at Cornell, I drove to Albany to visit friends & colleagues from my years as NY State’s Tax Commissioner: My Exec. Deputy Commissioner Pat & Midge Bulgaro, NY State Budget Director Wayne & Carole Diesel (who hosted my stay), and Deputy Comm. Bill Collins. Paid my respects to current Tax Commissioner Amanda Hiller & Exec. Deputy Michael Shollar. Dec.’22: Visited Doug Preisse’s further restorations on his Somerset, OH property. JUL: Steve George & Jeff Gatwood’s Open House of their restored Mt. Vernon, OH home.

Bounteous Chinese Dinners

 

DEC’22: At Ming Flower Restaurant – which resumed offering its 12-course Cantonese banquets – were John Kuijper, Edwaard Liang, Stella & Warren Woo, Virginia & Ping Chen, Ambrose & Irene Ng, Kent Rigsby & Sylvia Fergus. Nice wines from my cellar for the tasty dinner.

JUN: Also re-commencing for the first time since COVID: a Chinese Pot Luck Dinner. Theresa & S.L. Lee made their wondrous Winter Melon Soup – chicken, Chinese mushrooms & other ingredients steamed for hours in a whole melon. Irene’s Stir-fried Shrimp, Peas, & Scallion. My Poached Sea Bass with Scallion, Ginger, & Preserved White Cucumber in Soy Sauce & Oil. Stella & Warren Woo’s Won Ton Noodle Soup. Thanks to Ambrose & Irene for hosting this feast with many other delicious dishes prepared by Virginia & Ping Chen! 

Entertaining at New Albany Country Club

APR: Celebrated Easter and the Club’s lavish Buffet Brunch with Katie & Adam Einhorn and their kids, who were delighted to greet the big Easter Bunny. JUN: Another huge buffet for Father’s Day, with Virginia & Ping Chen, Michael Richardson, and Ambrose & Irene Ng. 

 

So easy to share New Albany Country Club’s delicious and elegant dining and event offerings throughout the year with fellow members and guests: Don & Lisal Gorman and Vivian Davis; Bob & Linda Gorman back from their vacation home; David Goodman at the Spring Wine Expo; Bob & Linda introduced me to Jaime Lemon & her son Jason Davis; fellow Cornell alumnus Erik Lehmann; Katie, Athena, & Adam Einhorn; Jon & Sandy Tafel; Sean & Cally Meers; Cornell’s Brock Buffum; Michael Lester; Jim Miller; Rich Stoff. We ate very well!

Tasting Dinners Around Columbus

I was fortunate to have gotten seats each month – except for JAN & JUL – for Andrew Smith & Devoney Mills’ monthly Roys Ave Supper Club dinners, held mainly in their home, each offering a different 9-course tasting menu for me, often my lucky +1, and 12 other guests dishes that “want my mouth to have fun!” Jon Bidinger; Blake Compton and Joe DeLoss; Kent Rigsby; Tony Bowens and Adam Einhorn; John Kuijper. Getting to share wines from my cellar made the dinners especially attractive. My sister Laura; Don & Anita Dougherty and Edwaard Liang; Bob Gorman; Ambrose Ng and Sous Chef Joe; Shawnie Kelley. Thanks Andrew & Devoney for great gustatory experiences! 

After his NACC retirement last December, I helped persuade Chef Kent Rigsby to continue pleasing his fans by offering pop-up dinners. MAR: I was Kent’s guest at a small trial dinner he and Sylvia had in their home – with a stuffed rabbit loin entrée and wines from my cellar. JUN: First pop-up – at The Kitchen’s Studio with 24 of Kent’s close friends, including Doug Preisse as my +1. SEP & NOV: Another 2 pop-up dinners at Sally McDonald’s lovely home, with Vivian Davis and Sue Porter as my guests, for the most elegant dinners in town! 

JUN: For Laura’s visit, I booked ahead for Avishar Barua’s tasting dinner at his new restaurant Agni. I congratulated him on his victory on Beat Bobby Flay. His 6-course dinner – plus several bonus courses – left us swooning over his internationally influenced dishes: Tomato water filled Pan Puri; Smoky Sourdough Bread & Cheese; Dry-aged Rohan Duck; his signature French Fry. Glad Laura got to experience it! 

My Favorite Dishes of the Year

 

For all the incredible dishes I had the pleasure of eating this year, three really stood out for me. JUL: At Speck, Chef Jay Kleven’s Short Ribs satisfied my 35-year quest for the succulent, stringless short rib meat I last had in 1986 at NYC’s 4-star La Grenouille. AUG: At Rocky Fork Hunt and Country Club for Chef Bill Glover’s special welcoming course: in the egg shell, layers of fudgy egg yolk, saffron whipped potatoes, lump crab meat, chive sour cream, & sturgeon caviar - from Chef Glover's James Beard House Dinner in NYC – and his Lobster alla Chitarra, with the succulent lobster pieces cooked to tender perfection saucing the beautifully textured and chewy handmade pasta. Magnificent! 

Visitors

JUN: Michael Richardson paid me a surprise visit for the Father’s Day/Juneteenth weekend. Started with cocktails and dinner at Service Bar. We enjoyed a day of country club living, relaxing at New Albany Country Club’s Adult Pool after the Father’s Day Buffet, with adult beverages served to our poolside lounges, then dinner al fresco on the Club’s Terrace. Breakfast at the Fox in the Snow with their award- winning Souffléd Egg Sandwiches. Laura flew in to visit me later that week: Dinner with Tally & Midge Krumm at the Club; BalletMet picnic hosted by Board Chair Herb Bresler in Bexley with Edwaard Liang, fellow Trustees, and dancers; Korean lunch at Don Pocha. We visited Devoney Mills at her Grandview houseplant store and then invoked Mom’s good luck and hit nice bonuses in a quick visit to Hollywood Casino. Brunch at Ghostwriter Public House in Johnstown and shared the memorable experiences of 2 big, wonderful tasting dinners. JUL: Sherran Blair & I had a delicious dinner at Speck during her 1-day visit. OCT: I got back from Cornell in time to host a dinner at Lindey’s with Alice & Howei Chan, in town visiting their daughter Weilin - in her ophthalmology residency at OSU – and her fiancé Peter Connolly.

BalletMet and Other Performing Arts in Columbus

Dec. ‘22: David Glisson was my guest for BalletMet’s marvelous Nutcracker. In black tie and velvet cape with hundreds of other supporters at the Nutcracker Ball. FEB, MAR, OCT: With Vivian Davis, Michael Lester, Tony & Kate Thomas for dinner and other beautiful performances. APR: The world premiere of Edwaard Liang’s brilliant re-interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic Swan Lake with a full complement of 32 BalletMet swans in tutus; Don & Lisal Gorman were my guests. Following my introductory year as a Trustee, I was honored to be elected to a full 3-year term on its Board. MAR & SEP: I enjoyed concerts by the Columbus Symphony of Dvorak’s New World Symphony and Mahler’s dramatic Ninth. New Albany Symphony’s quite professional performances of Duke Ellington and Judy Garland pieces. SEP: Opera Columbus’ fully-staged Carmen set in the 1950s. NOV: The Columbus Women’s Chorus, chaired by Babette Gorman, sang 12 spirited songs.

Special Events

 

 

MAR: The preview opening of the new Lisal & Don Gorman Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan LibraryGahanna honoring its benefactors, with their family members Charlotte Davis, Bob & Linda Gorman, and Vivian Davis, and hundreds of friends. MAY: Sandy & Jon Tafel invited dozens of guests - including an enthusiastic partying gang from our Ohio Board of Regents years – for a 20th Anniversary celebration of their wedding and reception in Lindey’s upstairs party room.

Printed 2023 Letter

I fit all the above into one double-sided legal sheet to include with my Christmas cards. Since Adobe stopped supporting its InDesign app except on a monthly subscription basis, I bought Affinity Publisher at a reasonable one-time purchase cost and made the easy switch to it to lay out this year's letter. If you'd like a hard copy, I'd be happy to mail you one - just send an email with your mailing address to me at roderick.chu@att.net.