The Passing of Michael Batterberry, The Culinary Grandee Who Co-Founder & Editor of Food Arts Magazine

* * * * *

Michael Batterberry receiving a Madrid Fusion award 

from Alberto Ruiz-Galladón, Mayor of Madrid, as Ariane Batterberry looks on.

I am very sad to report on the passing of one of the giants of the world of gastronomy and one of the greatest, most elegant men I have ever known, Michael Batterberry, who with his wife, Ariane (who survives him), Food & Wine magazine and then went on to found Food Arts, perhaps, because it is read avidly by chefs and restaurateurs, the most influential food magazine in America. 

Michael Batterberry receiving a Madrid Fusion award in 2006 from 

Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, Mayor of Madrid, as Ariane Batterberry looks on.

I am privileged to have known Michael Batterberry, to have shared experiences with him in New York, in Spain and in Napa Valley; to have written for Food Arts for nearly fifteen years under his direction; and to have been able to call him a friend. I, like many others, will miss him very, very much, now and into the future.

Michael Batterberry seriously contemplating his next culinary move 

at the Food Arts holiday party at Merle Evans's apartment, January 2010.

In any visual encyclopedia, under the definition of "gentleman," my first candidate would be a photograph of Michael in one of his impeccably tailored suits or blazers.  !Adios, Don Miguel, Vaya Usted con Dios!

Video: James Beard  Foundations Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 2010

to Michael and Ariane Batterberry. 

(Courtesy of The Wine Spectator and the James Beard Foundation.) 

Obituary, The New York Times

 Michael Batterberry, Influential Food Editor, Dies at 78

Obituary, Food Arts 

Michael Batterberry, Food Arts Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Dies at 78♠

About Gerry Dawes

Speaking Engagements, Conferences, Television & Radio Appearances

Public Speaking Engagements

"Gerry Dawes--has emerged as the leading American speaker, consultant, and writer on the subject of Spanish wine. . . suffice to say that everyone from The New York Times to the James Beard Foundation, from 60 Minutes to CNN, has sought Gerry's wisdom on the subject of Spanish wine, food and culture." - -David Rosengarten, The Rosengarten Report (August, 2004)

". . . Gerry Dawes, the gastronomy/travel writer known for good reasons in wine and periodical circles as ‘Mr. Spain." An inexhaustible fund of knowledge on his favorite subject . . ." (July-August, 2003) & "Intrepid Hispanist Gerry Dawes. . . (an) unimpeachable Spanish food and wine specialist and widely recognized Spanish guru. . ." – Michael and Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher, Food Arts

". . .our culinary tour guide, Gerry Dawes, is among America's most enthusiastic, authoritative and entertaining experts on Spanish food and wine." - - Union Square Cafe (NYC) newsletter, Autumn 2002 announcing an Autumn Wine & Food Dinner: A Fresh Taste of Spain.

Gerry Dawes has been a featured speaker on Spain, Spanish wines, gastronomy, culture and travel at:

— The Smithsonian Institution
— Macy's De Gustibus
— Executive Wine Seminars
— Tasters Guild International
— International Wine Center
— Boston Wine Expo
— Centro Riojano (Madrid)



Teaching at Artisanal Cheese Center

Speaking Engagements and Conferences

— Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust International Leadership Symposium (Held in Barcelona, at EXPO '92, in Sevilla, and in Madrid)

— Conference on Spanish Regional Gastronomy II International Congress on the Mediterranean Diet (Held in Barcelona and Córdoba, Spain; March 1998)

— Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY) 1998 Winter Dining Series

— The James Beard Foundation's Mediterranean Festival (New York; October, 1999) - A Photographic Tour of Spain's Regional Cuisines & Wines

— First International Symposium on Tempranillo (Logroño, Spain; April, 2000)

— The 10th Annual Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta (Santa Fe, New Mexico; Sept. 2000)

— Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival (Austin, Texas; April, 2001) A Culinary Slide Lecture Tour of Spain's Regional Cuisines & Wines

— Fiesta de España, Two Rivers Theater Company benefit, Food & Wine Co-ordinator; Speaker VIP Tasting (Oceanport, NJ; June 2002)

— Guest speaker on Rias Baixas wines, The Great Match, The Regent Wall Street Hotel, NYC (Oct., 2002)

— Guest speaker on Ribero del Duero wines, The Great Match, Scottsdale Culinary Institute, Scottsdale, Arizona (Oct., 2002)

— Guest speaker, Food & Wine Co-ordinator, A Fresh Taste of Spain Dinner, Union Square Cafe (Nov. 2002)

— Faculty Lecturer, Artisanal Cheese Center, classes on Spanish cheeses and wines. (May 2003 - Present).

— Guest speaker on the wines of the Spanish Levante, The Great Match, New York City (Sept., 2003)

— Featured Speaker & Panelist (four seminars on Spanish gastronomy & wines), Worlds of Flavor: Mediterranean Flavors, American Menus--Tasting the Future, Culinary Institute of America, Napa Valley, (November 6-8, 2003)

— Guest Speaker, Celebration of the Gastronomy of Spain Dinner, Rainbow Room, New York City (February, 2004)

— Guest Speaker, A Taste of Spain Dinner, Cindy's Supper Club, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, St. Helena, California (June, 2004)

— Guest speaker on the wines of the Spanish Levante, The Great Match, Miami, Florida (Oct., 2004)

— Seminar on Spanish Wines & Cheeses, Macy's De Gustibus, New York City (Oct., 2004)

Television & Radio

— Food Network, as an expert on Spanish food and wine. Dawes's color photographs also used as background for Food Network segment on the Basque Country. (Video clips available.)

— "A Matter of Taste," 2003 JBF Award winning program of David Michael & Rachel Kane, San Francisco. (July, 2004)

— CNN, interviewed by Carolyn O'Neill on Spanish Cuisine.

— Has appeared in several interviews on television and radio in Spain.

— CBS-TV 'Sixty Minutes' - Associate Producer for a segment on Spain.