Grandpa

Today we held the funeral for my grandfather 趙諒公. He was a hundred years old, counted in the Chinese manner. He was a 才子, a renaissance man, who excelled in a variety of subjects including poetry, calligraphy, Chinese opera, and 圍棋. While his accomplishments in the cultural fields and his work are well known, what has not been mentioned much is his cooking skills.

He was an extremely talented and skilled home cook. While he only cooked occasionally, he enjoyed making dishes that required good techniques. He also liked experimenting with classical dishes and inventing new combinations. It is so unfortunate that none of us was able to convince him to write a cookbook, which would have been fascinating.

My grandfather also has a very good palette with very high standards. Family legend has it that he once threw a plate of food prepared by the maid out the window into the garden when he thought the food was not up to his standards. There are also stories about him pouring bowls of noodle soup onto the floor to show his displeasure with the quality of cooking. While his actions are a bit extreme, it was hard to argue with him when he was most likely correct and could show you how to do it.

My grandfather was a unique talent who not only lived a long life, but really enjoyed himself.