Rosalind Ann Martin

Rosalind Ann Martin, 47, died on August 18 in Austin, Texas. Rosalind, an accomplished chef and chef-manager, graduated from the Johnson & Wales in Providence, RI in 1989 and until her death worked in a variety of food-focused roles, where she loved creating a kitchen environment that always strived to bring out the best of the culinary creations, as well as best of her co-workers. Her file folder of “recipes to try” was legendary and always growing; no matter of many she created – there could never be enough new tastes to try!

She was a member of the Ledyard High School Class of 1985, received an Associates in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors in Business from Johnson & Wales. She interned at South Seas Resort in Captiva, FL, and began her career at Charlesgate in Providence and at various Providence area restaurants. After her move to Austin she worked for AMD, The Summit, and Waterloo Ice House. She led the kitchen of the first Alamo Draft House Cinema and eventually worked with the group in both Austin and Houston. She joined Cabela’s in Kyle and managed food service operations there. She also worked briefly for the Kipp Public Schools and at a private residence hall at the University of Texas.

She is survived by her mother, Pearl S. Martin of Deerfield Beach FL, her father, James H. Martin of Ledyard CT, as well as by her sister Teresa Martin and niece, Allegra Martin, of Eastham MA.

Just out of college, she was an active body-builder and her car featured the license plate FLEX-67. Even after she stopped competing, she enjoyed staying in shape. She made friends in every place she worked and lived. She grappled with the challenges of life with a positive and brave front and would want to be remembered for the good moments and happy times.

She adored her mini doxies, Penny and Kacy, and her cat Simone, and they were her “babies” that she spoiled endlessly. She loved attending the “Weiner Dog” races and “Weiner Dog” festivals in the Austin area each year and would share stories about how much fun and how sweet the breed was.

She also loved music and enjoyed many South by Southwest festivals, sharing photos and videos of her favorite acts with friends and family. She found new artists to enjoy every year.

But mostly, she loved the culinary arts. As a child she was a finicky eater, once asking for a McDonalds hamburger with no hamburger! In high school she stumbled across Julia Child’s cooking shows and quickly became fascinated with food and its creation. She loved trying to make food as appealing as possible, whether it was being served to residents of a nursing home or guests in a high-end restaurant. The location didn’t matter: people deserved to enjoy the eating experience wherever they were with whatever capacity they had. Food could be simple, it could be processing childhood snack food, it could take hours to prepare – it didn’t matter; she loved everything about it.

Her two favorite places in the world were Austin, TX and Provincetown, MA. Celebrations of her life will be held in both locations and a little piece of her will stay in each town, so that she can forever keep an eye out for the best new restaurants and the best new eats, and remain a presence for the people she loved.