FOURCHU, N.S. — A small fishing town in southeastern Cape Breton is mourning the death of the founder of a world-renowned culinary school who considered the community "her family's home village" and promoted its catch as a superb cooking ingredient.
Dorothy Cann Hamilton, 67, died in the collision on Highway 105 when her SUV collided with a truck pulling a camper trailer, about 100 kilometres from her summer home in the village of Fourchu.
She was the founder and CEO of the International Culinary Center in New York, which also has campuses in San Francisco and near Parma, Italy.
The vocational school, which started as an outgrowth of her father's training institute in trades, has become one of the world's leading cooking schools. Hamilton was also the host of a public television and radio series that profiled chefs and has received the Legion of Honor from France for promoting French cuisine in the United States.
In her final post on her blog "Love what you do," Hamilton praised the island's snow crab, explaining how she'd invited internationally recognized chefs to Fourchu several years ago in hope they'd "go gaga" over the local catch.
"In the summers, you can meet the crab boat and have the sea water boiling back home," she wrote. "Meeting the boat is as much a social event as a shopper's delight."
Gordon MacDonald, a fisherman in Fourchu, said that Hamilton tried to assist the struggling economy of Cape Breton by pointing out the unique, sweet flavour of the lobsters he and other fishermen brought to shore — helping to establish the name of "Fourchu lobster" in the best restaurants of New York City.
He said her delight in his catch was in keeping with her approach to food, which emphasized that excellent cooking stemmed from the freshness and quality of the ingredients themselves.
He said for several months of the year her culinary schools exclusively used his community's catch.
Her loss is a blow to Cape Breton island, as she'd taken a growing interest in helping create a cooking school at community colleges and was continuing to promote the quality of its catch, he added.
"She was a driving force. She was a woman that would get things done. She had influence and power and knowledge of how to bring things together ... While we still may be able to achieve the same thing in the end it's going to be a lot more difficult without her," he said.
Nancy Whitney-Latham, a designated lay minister with the United Church, says Hamilton was also beloved in Fourchu for her contributions to the local church and community firefighting department.
"The people of Fourchu will be grieving this loss of their friend for a long time to come. I know when I got the call, I couldn't speak ... I'm still seeing Dorothy and hearing Dorothy and I really find it hard to accept she's gone in such a tragic way," she said.
Hamilton held parties with music and delicious food, and invited the local people into her home, said the minister.
"She threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater and away she'd go," said Whitney-Latham.
She says a memorial fund has been set up in her name to help preserve the church building, which has seen a declining congregation in recent years.
Whitney-Latham also said a special service will be held at the church this Sunday, and that Hamilton will eventually laid to rest in Fourchu, the home community of her grandfather.
Hamilton was in Cape Breton to organize a surprise birthday party for a friend, and had been on her way to business meetings to help promote various ventures on the island.
