Josh Ozersky died at 47 as he was getting ready to report on a culinary event. Ozersky, whose real name is Joshua Ozersky, died in his hotel room in Chicago while on assignment covering the James Beard Awards ceremony.
Josh Ozersky dies at 47 and in one of his last tweets, he was asking for advice on where to eat while in Illinois. According to the police, Josh Ozersky, aka Joshua Ozersky, was found dead in a room at the Conrad Chicago Hotel at around 11:40 a.m.
The cause of death of the famous food writer is still not known at the moment. The medical examiner’s office said that an autopsy is scheduled for today.
The food writer was in the Windy City on assignment covering the James Beard Awards ceremony, which honors people for culinary achievements and writing.
Ozersky won a Beard Award and was a columnist for Esquire, TIME, and New York magazine’s Grub Street food blog. He wrote several books on food including “Smoke: New Firewood Cooking,” “The Hamburger: A History (Icons of America)” and “Colonel Sanders and the American Dream.”
Ten years ago, Ozersky left New York for Portland, Oregon where he founded Meatopia, an annual carnivore celebration that travels across America. This is where dozens of great chefs use wood, coals, and fire to prepare lamb, beef, goat and pig
Talking to SF Weekly, Josh Ozersky opened up about his favorite meal from Meatopia.
He explained:
“God, that’s tough. There have been so many great ones. The one I actually remember most fondly, my favorite, was a spitted lamb cooked by Seamus when the event was still an invite-only VIP thing in New York. It was glazed with a cocktail of smoked lamb fat and Pedro Ximenez vinegar that he buzzed up with a hand mixer. I can remember how it dripped onto the fire and created tiny explosions of perfume, and how that juice sizzled and screamed in the fire. It was so amazing. But so was PJ Calapa’s beef cheek raviolo. So was John’s skirt steak with kimchi butter from Miami. I’ll never forget Johnny Hernandez, in San Antonio, cooking twenty baby goats on vertical spikes and making tortillas from flour on the spot. I could go on and on.”
In one of his last tweets, Josh Ozersky asked his followers where is the best place to eat in Chicago.
So I am in Chicago. Where should I eat?
— Josh Ozersky (@OzerskyTV) May 3, 2015
Josh Ozersky dies at 47, but his legacy will live on.
What are your thoughts on his career?
