Sharon Tyler Herbst, author of “The Food Lover’s Companion” and 16 other books on food and drink, died Friday at home in Bodega Bay, Calif., after a three- year battle with ovarian cancer.
Born on Thanksgiving Day, she always felt that food would play an important role in her life.
Herbst grew up in the Golden area and met her husband, Ron, a graduate of the University of Denver restaurant management program, when both worked at the Tiffin Inn in southeast Denver. The couple married and moved to Southern California.
Herbst’s first cookbook, “Breads,” published in 1983, won an award for the best bread cookbook of the year. “Simply Sensational Desserts” followed in 1986 and “The Joy of Cookies” in 1987.
But her 1990 tome, “The Food Lover’s Companion,” has become the reference of choice for many food journalists. The current edition contains 6,000 definitions, and has sold more than 1 million copies. It is the online reference of epicurious.com, amazon.com, allrecipes.com and
foodnetwork.com.
She was 99 percent finished with an updated version, which will be published this fall, said her husband, with whom she co-wrote “The New Wine Lover’s Companion.” Her latest book, “The Cheese Lover’s Companion,” which she also co- wrote with Ron Herbst, will be published in June.
Herbst is survived by her husband; her mother, Kay Tyler of Galveston, Texas; and a sister, Tia McCurdy of Galveston.
A family memorial service will be held Saturday in Bodega Bay, Calif.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the UCSF Gynecologic Oncology Foundation, in care of Dr. Bethan Powell, UCSF Gynecologic Oncology Foundation, 1600 Divisadero Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94115.
