Sadly, Gina lost her far too young life to ovarian cancer. You've met her often, here on CMI, as recently as this past Christmas Eve-Eve. Still, I hope you'll take the time to read her NEW YORK TIMES obituary to learn more about her rise to fame in the culinary world. And then there are our personal memories…
How her Dad, my Mom's first cousin, used to call her "Gina Bellina," when she was a little girl…
How she'd practice desserts on all of us at many a Thanksgiving dinner, long before she thought to be a pastry chef…
How she drove the wrong way in a lane of traffic when she took us into the Big Apple for Joe to run the marathon of all marathons… hey, we survived to chuckle for years over that one...
How we were nearly rendered unable to walk, after she comped us so many of her outrageously delicious desserts during meals at Babbo...
How her devastated Mom, our beloved Evelyn, would walk on hot coals for her to help in finding a cure…
But it wasn't meant to be.
She'll never be forgotten and we pray that she's found pain-free peace in a Heaven where she reigns supreme in the kitchen of her dreams.
♥
