A farewell toast to Star reviewer Lauren Chapin

The first time I met Lauren Chapin, the restaurant reviewer for The Kansas City Star, neither of us was writing about restaurants, and we probably never thought that we ever would.

I was a feature writer for the Sun Newspapers in Johnson County (and a part-time waiter), and Lauren was a photographer. She might have been freelancing at that point — this was more than 20 years ago — because she was in the old Sun offices at 107th Street and Metcalf. She needed a ride to midtown, and I was heading in that direction. She was a skinny sprite then — full of life. Over the decades, I promise you, she never aged. Even when we both became professional restaurant critics, I swear she never gained an ounce over the years. I wish I could say the same for myself.

I admired her discipline, her passion for her family and her work, and her congenial nature. When we were both nominated for James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards in 2005 — in different categories — Lauren was the first to call to congratulate me (neither of us won that year).

Lauren’s unexpected death this week, from a brain aneurysm, stunned the city’s restaurant community. I’m still in shock myself.

I speak for my fellow reporters and editors at The Pitch when I extend my sympathy to Lauren’s family and friends. I once read, in a book by Patrick O’Higgins, that the French believe that at 20 minutes past the hour, if there is a sudden silence during a meal, an angel has passed. — Charles Ferruzza