Love for Popcorn: A Heartfelt Tribute to a Beloved Chef
The people who make a restaurant a family. A Chef, a Friend, and a Legacy of Kindness.
This episode is a bit of a departure from our regular show for an excellent reason. Sylvia, Co-Host of Family Tree, Food & Stories, and her husband, Bernie Lovely, the owners of Restaurant Azure and Patio in Lexington, Kentucky, recently woke to a phone call telling them of the sudden and unexpected passing of their Sous Chef, Austin Poplewell "Popcorn."
Known for his gentle spirit and culinary creativity, Popcorn’s presence turned their restaurant into a second family, filling it with warmth and laughter. Always sharing, Popcorn often brought family recipes to the kitchen, including that of his grandmother’s butterscotch pie.
This is more than a tribute; it’s a reminder of how we build a family through food, laughter, shared stories, and, in this case, a celebration of resilience, passion, and love.
Additional Links
About Your Hosts: Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories, an Omnimedia company that celebrates the rich traditions and connections that everyone has around food, friends, and family meals together. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, lawyer, and former CEO, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles.
Tune in and discover the secrets and superstitions hidden in your kitchen cabinets—you might find a new story to share with friends, family, or even a business colleague during your next meal.
#tribute #popcorn #souschef #restaurant #family #food #celebrationoflife #kentuckyfamilies
Transcript
Popcorn, chef coat, and butterscotch pie.
Sylvia Lovely:I am in the restaurant business because of its humanness.
Sylvia Lovely:It's like your family.
Sylvia Lovely:An assortment of crazy Uncle Bills and Aunt Sues, but on steroids.
Sylvia Lovely:The customers come in all sizes and persuasions, but often with
Sylvia Lovely:the drama that brought them into the restaurant to begin with.
Sylvia Lovely:They, too, are family, and with any family tragedy, a life
Sylvia Lovely:affirming story often emerges.
Sylvia Lovely:Bernie, my husband, began his birthday weekend with his foot slipping off
Sylvia Lovely:the brake, his car careening into the garage steps, and ultimately, into the
Sylvia Lovely:garage wall before it came to a stop.
Sylvia Lovely:The weekend was to get profoundly worse.
Sylvia Lovely:Devastating news.
Sylvia Lovely:Popcorn Our beloved 30 year old sous chef at our Azure restaurant
Sylvia Lovely:and patio had passed away in his sleep at his grandparents house.
Sylvia Lovely:Bernie found great pleasure in engaging with the Azure staff, which included
Sylvia Lovely:Popcorn, beginning in 2015, just after he graduated from Sullivan Culinary School.
Sylvia Lovely:Austin, Popcorn Popplewell, Got his nickname when, because of his soft
Sylvia Lovely:voice, his fellow kitchen staffers could not understand the name.
Sylvia Lovely:They settled on popcorn, and it stuck.
Sylvia Lovely:Our tight knit service and kitchen crew gathered nearly every night to deliver
Sylvia Lovely:delicious meals at a restaurant that had grown popular from its launch In 2005,
Sylvia Lovely:Popcorn thrived.
Sylvia Lovely:He brought his grandmother's timeless traditional recipes,
Sylvia Lovely:adding his own creative flair.
Sylvia Lovely:For He would sometimes bring homemade warm biscuits and butter to diners
Sylvia Lovely:as they arrived at Sunday brunch.
Sylvia Lovely:He would visit others when the kitchen slowed down.
Sylvia Lovely:One special recipe was for butterscotch pie, Bernie's favorite.
Sylvia Lovely:In years past, Bernie, not so subtly, would just happen on purpose
Sylvia Lovely:to say in front of the staff how much he loved butterscotch pie.
Sylvia Lovely:Chef Jeremy Ashby, our executive chef, would have a fresh one at Bernie's
Sylvia Lovely:birthday evening dinner at the restaurant.
Sylvia Lovely:This being a particularly challenging year, Bernie never mentioned
Sylvia Lovely:the pie, and neither did I.
Sylvia Lovely:But, Popcorn, remembered.
Sylvia Lovely:In the chatter that comes with a passing, his grandmother shared, That
Sylvia Lovely:he asked her to whip up her special butterscotch filling and he would
Sylvia Lovely:complete the pie upon arriving at the restaurant and present it to Bernie.
Sylvia Lovely:He never made it.
Sylvia Lovely:Popcorn didn't complain about the long hours in a hot kitchen,
Sylvia Lovely:often at night when others were with family and he was not.
Sylvia Lovely:He was a simple person, prominently stated in his obituary.
Sylvia Lovely:He loved his job.
Sylvia Lovely:His grandmother reminded us at his visitation that Azure, his family,
Sylvia Lovely:and cooking were his passions.
Sylvia Lovely:Popcorn's chef coat was his favorite suit, she said through tears, and
Sylvia Lovely:so it is only fitting that it was in his beloved chef's coat that
Sylvia Lovely:Popcorn was laid to his eternal rest.
