What Would Your Last Meal Be?
Hans Rueffert is a chef and cookbook author, and finalist for “The Next Food Network Star.” And he’s been struggling with cancer since 2005, undergoing multiple surgeries, chemo and radiation therapy after having half of his stomach and part of his esophagus removed.
His new cookbook, “Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow” (Luna7, 2009) is a beautifully photographed, well-realized look at cooking, gardens, thoughtfulness and life. Going with the adage his dad gave him of “you can’t make chicken salad with chicken poop,” Rueffert waxes sentimental about asparagus then gives a mean recipe for weiner schnitzel.
“All it takes is one bite of a homegrown tomato and you’ll find a way to grow some food,” he says about fresh ingredients, just before the book gets closeup with a few garden friends like spiders and turtles and a recipe for chocolate honey creme brulee.
If you’d like a copy, his website has details. I wish Hans well.
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© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
31 comments Add your comment
Toren Anderson
March 30th, 2009
11:51 pm
This book is a treasure and we are so grateful for Hans’ creativity and the amount of LIFE captured in the pages. We wish Hans and his family all good things. Buy this book! Thanks for covering the story for foodies, farmers and lovers of life.
Chris Hornaday
March 30th, 2009
11:54 pm
It’s a great book with incredible images of life, food, family and all the South has to offer. I encourage you all to purchase this book from http://www.outofzbleu.com as Sarah the owner gives all proceeds to Hans and his family. Hans has just returned from M.D.Anderson and is still fighting to be well. Regardless, the book is a treasure and we are so glad to own a copy. Best to Hans in his recovery.
It's A Sad Situation
March 31st, 2009
9:09 am
This is a sick topic.
KARL MARTIN
March 31st, 2009
9:22 am
I WOULD LIKE A SAVORY, SPICY CURRY, WITH VEGETABLESSHRIMP OR CHICKEN
AND CHUTNEY
KARL MARTIN
March 31st, 2009
9:23 am
CURRY, CURRY AND MORE CURRY
Voice of Reason #1
March 31st, 2009
9:34 am
Asparagus and organic anything–not on the list. I’d have two Chambord martinis; crab cakes; unlimited crab legs (where someone has pulled the long, succulent meat out of the shells for me) with clarified butter dripping from the tips as I slide the crab meat down my throat; garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach; creme brulee and MY sweet potato pie–a whole one. Eaten freely, without guilt. [And I'm now "Voice of Reason #1" since someone has periodically used my username!]
none
March 31st, 2009
10:00 am
whatever Comrade Obama allows me to have
Becky
March 31st, 2009
10:14 am
Voice of Reason #1, I agree your last meal except maybe the creamed spinach..Of course I would also be happy with fried pork chops, fried potaotes & biscuits..This is something that right now, I only eat maybe 1-2 times a year..Also the sweet potato pie, when my Mother made them for me as a teenager, she would put a merainge(sp) topping on them & sprinkle coconut on top..Talk about to die for…
Mac
March 31st, 2009
10:21 am
Two slabs of ribs, one from Dreamland in Tuscaloosa and one from T.C. Barbecue in Jacksonville, Fla.
Mac
March 31st, 2009
10:24 am
Oh, and a couple dozen fried oysters from Cedar River Seafood in Hilliard, Fla. And, you might as well throw in a double order of hot wings from Three Dollar Cafe. Obviously, it’s the meal that’s gonna kill me. And, I’d like the hot blonde for an appetizer. Two of them in fact.
Meridith Ford Goldman
March 31st, 2009
10:26 am
ESR: Blonde? Brunettes are so much more fun …
Mary Lou Respess
March 31st, 2009
10:32 am
When my husband received a doctor’s report of terminal cancer, he headed to the Varsity for a chili dog. As we are both native born Atlantans, I’d do the same!
Kunkel
March 31st, 2009
10:46 am
Gino’s East Suprme with Pepperoni AND sausage (the patty, not the crumbles), and a pitcher of draft 312. Sorry Lou Malnati’s. If I got a second to last meal, I’d be on your doorstep too.
Kay
March 31st, 2009
11:17 am
Being a southern girl, I’ll have to go with fried chicken, mac & cheese and collard greens. Oh and if I had time anything from Wyatt’s Diner.
hotgirl
March 31st, 2009
11:21 am
Enchiladas. LOVE them.
2muchmusic
March 31st, 2009
11:42 am
My aunt’s fried chicken and chicken and dumplings, home grown tomatoes, and a big warm brownie with NO NUTS and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
MChammer
March 31st, 2009
12:00 pm
Country style steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried okra, turnip greens.
wartdog
March 31st, 2009
12:02 pm
It would have to be Danish lobster tails and a glass of Pescivino wine wisth a side of pasta marinara… if someone knows where I can get that let me know!
jakesdad
March 31st, 2009
12:03 pm
at the risk of starting a flame war Gino’s has got to be one of the most over-rated restaurants in the US. good? yes. best pizza in the universe? only in their dreams. I’d take a Mellow Mushroom house special over them any day of the week. back in the late 80s I’d have gone w/Everybody’s but they seemed to go downhill in the 90s (haven’t been in 10+ yrs).
either way mine would involve a NY strip smothered in stilton cheese, a lobster tail & an extremely expensive bottle of cab
Blake Warenik
March 31st, 2009
1:02 pm
Hans is one of the few true authors to put his name to a cookbook. Compared to “Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow” most cookbooks seem like a disjointed folder of recipes and shallow anecdotes. Hans writes and cooks like a virtuoso and produces the kind of cookbook equally at home in the kitchen and on the coffee table. His stories and photography are a vivid reminder of how guttural the desire for good food is and why it may be the most meaningful expression of life.
Valerie
March 31st, 2009
1:08 pm
This is a serious subject and I highly advise you all to GET THE BOOK. What could have been Hans’ last meal wasn’t and I feel so lucky to know him. Follow his blog to get a better understanding. This is not a joking matter. Hanscooks.com
Ellijay Stranger
March 31st, 2009
2:37 pm
I don’t know this family but have watched Hans cooking show over the years. I can tell you that this cookbook reads more like a novel than a cookbook. It is so rich and well presented that it proudly sits on my coffee table rather than on a kitchen shelf. The crisp, clear photography is rare for a cookbook or any other type of book.
I also look forward to buying his line of spices.
Deborah
March 31st, 2009
3:06 pm
Hans’ cookbook is beautifully written and photographed. It’s become an instant favorite at our home and the recipes and family stories are heartwarming. Hans, may you find healing.
Rhett
March 31st, 2009
4:03 pm
This is a BEAUTIFUL topic & I thank Hans for being heroic enough to share his experience & thank MFord for publishing it. Having assisted a few family members through terminal illness, I think people need to know what the affected person is going through & how to best assist him/her in his/her time of need. I think I’ll have all the shellfish I could stomach. I have such severe allergic reactions now that I’d prefer to be dead than deal with the whelts and itchiness.
BobH
March 31st, 2009
6:19 pm
I wish I was half the cook Hans is…and I wish I was half the truly good person Hans is.
The book is a work of art…visually, as a piece of writing, and spiritually.
By the way, it’s got some damn good recipes as a bonus.
BC
March 31st, 2009
11:16 pm
I read this book cover to cover the day I got it. I could not put it down. It is not just a cookbook. Buy it. Read it. Now.
Karena
April 1st, 2009
8:53 am
This cookbook is not just a cookbook…Its a life story about a wonderful family with a history of being in a kitchen. Hans is heroic and is the most positive person I know. The pictures are amazing! This is well worth the $. Check out his blog and see what prayer and positive attitude will do to cancer! Hans’ has made so many people appreciate the little things in life and not to take anything for granted. Truly an amazing person!
Karena
Lorrie
April 1st, 2009
11:18 am
This collection of recipes, beautiful photos and entertaining anecdotes is precious. Read between the lines– this is the legacy of an authentic soul and loving father to his children, not unlike The Last Lecture. Even if you hate cooking and have no intention of banging pots around, you should read this book, and then reread it, quote it and share it.
Dave
April 1st, 2009
6:33 pm
Meredith Ford Goldman
Phil Lanier
April 12th, 2009
1:43 pm
God, we’re drowning in cookbooks, but this one really does sound like an unique tome — after all, what is food, if not about life and death, right?
As for my last supper, it wouldn’t be held sittin’ around a table with a bunch of swinging richards in sack cloth, that’s for sure. Instead, it would be served to me, my wife and daughter at a table in St. Lucia or St. John, overlooking an ocean sunset. It would be a meal of small plates, like little moments, like those that make up a life. We’d share memories, laughs and dreams. Bittersweet.
I’d start things off with a mix of Pacific Coast and Atlantic oysters on the half shell, foie gras swimming in a port/fruit compote, and a nice helping of unctuous pickled sea urchin eggs. We’d wash it down with crisp cava or champagne.
Next, we’d have bites of roast fish cheeks, soft shell crab — and for me, fugu (what’s to lose, right?). Heck, why not some glasses of vino verde or Albarino with this?
When the tingling from the fugu wears off, I’ll tuck into my favorite veggies, especially okra Madras style, southern mixed greens with pepper vinegar, roast brussel sprouts and beets, and cream corn. Maybe pair that with a Beaujolais.
Next, I gotta have linguine in red clam sauce with a bit o’ kick to it. And a glass of chianti.
Then, bring on Hungarian roast duck with caraway seeds, sauteed sweetbreads, slices of roast elk, Persian stuffed grape leaves and Greek-style thin lamb chops. Gimme a Zinfandel for this, because what is life i without a little Zin.
Final course is the killer: small portions of deep, rich chocolate mousse, tiramasu, cheese assortment with quince compote, and fresh fruit. And, one BIG bottle of superlative Sauterne to top it all off.
Now, kill me, please. Or pass the alkaseltzer.
mike
August 23rd, 2009
7:15 pm
wartdog if you are ever near st petersburg fl go over the skyway bridge to the crab trap II it is palmetto fl about 30 minutes south of st pete they have danish lobster tails they are great i dont know about the pasta