On Monday morning, Minnesota chef and icon Jack Riebel, who had been battling cancer for the last two-and-a-half years, passed away surrounded by family and friends.
Riebel, the former executive chef at the Lexington, was diagnosed with cancer of the neuroendocrine system more than two years ago, according to an obituary posted online. Riebel has a long history in Minnesota and has left an impact on the food industry in the Twin Cities.
“We never had kids, but he had hundreds of kids at his restaurants,” Kathryne Cramer, his wife, told WCCO. “He was an innate teacher. He was always teaching. He made everybody feel special. That was his gift.”
The chef was born in St. Paul and started his culinary career when he was a teenager. Throughout his culinary journey he was the head chef at La Belle Vie in Stillwater, he spearheaded the Dakota Jazz Club’s relocation to downtown Minneapolis, and he became a co-owner of Butcher and the Boar.
Riebel then returned to St. Paul, where he rebooted the Lexington, turning it into “a working-class supper club, the kind of place anyone can go and feel special,” he said.
News Talk 830 WCCO’s Henry Lake was a friend of Riebel and shared his feelings about his passing online.
Others also took to social media, sharing their feelings on the passing of Riebel and what he meant to them.
During his show Monday night, while fighting back the tears, Lake shared that Riebel was an incredibly kind person even before the two were close.
Lake shared that Riebel had once been there for him when he was going through a hard time, and that no matter what he was there for people.
“He cared about people,” Lake said.
Riebel had worked in the restaurant industry for more than four decades and inspired or mentored a generation of young chefs. He and his family established a scholarship in his name at St. Paul College to help those attempting to become chefs at a young age.
Related
Related
