Mr. Food Dies

Art Ginsburg died today. You may have never heard of the guy, but to millions, he was known as Mr. Food. He had a daily 90 second daily cooking segment which was syndicated to as many as 168 TV stations.

It wasn't fancy stuff, but for what it was - it was very good. The Associated Press described him as "Delightfully dorky." He used simple ingredients to create a tasty dish. His approach to cooking was that, "Hey, anybody can do this." At the end of each segment he would taste his creation and say, "....ooh, it's soooo good!" Art was also an author. He wrote 52 cookbooks, selling more than 8 million copies. I met Mr. Food in 1994. As I remember, he was very friendly - just a normal guy. Normal?  Yes, but one of the last of a dying breed.  He started out as a butcher in upstate, New York. He was a guest on a local TV show in the 70s.  One thing led to another and he began his TV business which continues, after more than 30 years.

Art had been battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. He was 81.