Seattle restaurant community remembers two beloved chefs

The Seattle restaurant industry has lost two notable chefs who used food for social good.

Wayne Johnson was a former chef at Andaluca and Ray’s Boathouse. But he is best remembered for his mentorship at FareStart. The non-profit helps people transition from homelessness with cooking and life skills.

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Johnson had retired last year. He died earlier this month after a brief illness.

Laura Connelly, a graduate who later returned to become sous chef there, remembered Johnson's "light."

“It’s very difficult to explain,” Connelly said, “but he radiates warmth and a light that I don’t meet too many people that instantly have that.”

Connelly said Johnson cared about the people he worked with, taking the time to answer questions and stopping whatever he was doing to help. And in that way, she said Johnson helped pave the way for many graduates.

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Many leading local chefs have taken part in FareStart’s Guest Chef Night to collaborate with students and raise money for the program.

One of them was Tamara Murphy, chef and co-owner of Terra Plata on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Murphy was a James Beard Award winner who helped define Seattle’s food scene when she opened Brasa in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood in 1999. She died Saturday evening after suffering a stroke.

Holly Smith, chef owner of Café Juanita, worked with Murphy at Brasa. Murphy’s remarkable career included competing in the Bocuse d’Or, the culinary industry’s equivalent of the Olympics. Smith said Murphy had a way with communicating that made her a better cook.

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“She had this great way of explaining, like salt levels, she’d be like, ‘You need to get it to the point where it’s vibrating,’” Smith said. “I do the same thing now when I explain it to people.”

Smith said Murphy was tireless, and she often used that passion to champion small farms, LGBTQ rights, and other causes. Smith often collaborated with her on those events.

“I would never say 'no' to Tamara, anything that she asked,” she said. “I don’t know anybody that can turn her down, which is why she was so good at community building.”

Plans to celebrate both Murphy and Johnson are still in the works.