'Chef Rameaux,' 62, dies

RALEIGH -- Raleigh has become a little less Cajun.

Raymond Rodgers -- known to many as Chef Rameaux -- died Wednesday. He was 62.

Born Sept. 21, 1945, in Shreveport, La., Rodgers was a teacher in all phases of his life, said his wife, Peggy Beasley-Rodgers.

First a high school teacher and debate coach, Rodgers then finished his doctorate and became a communications professor, teaching for 13 years at N.C. State.

After retiring from academia, Rodgers reinvented himself as Raleigh's resident Cajun cook, "Chef Rameaux." Offering classes from a store on Person Street, Rodgers brought spice to the palates of Triangle gourmets.

Rodgers had struggled with health problems for many years. He had his first kidney transplant in the early 1970s, and a second one six years ago after more than three years on dialysis. More recently he was diagnosed with skin cancer that claimed an eye, said Beasley-Rodgers, principal of Washington GT Magnet Elementary.

His health forced him to leave Chef Rameaux's School of Cooking and Louisiana Market in February.

His body will be donated to science -- what his wife calls the fourth phase of his teaching life.

"He said it had to be an interesting one after all that has happened to him," she said.

Rodgers also asked for a send-off celebration as big as his Chef Rameaux persona. "He said, 'I want you to throw a big party when I die.' "

Rodgers and his wife were married for 38 years and have one daughter, Austin Beasley-Rodgers Combs.

"He always encouraged me to think for myself and make good arguments," she said.

Combs said her father told a story of his first foray into cooking at age 8, when his mother taught him to cook bacon and eggs in her cast iron skillet. "He said that was sort of the beginning of his love of cooking," she said.

Besides his wife and daughter, Rodgers is survived by his brother, Richard Rodgers, and sister, Rita Rodgers.