I was so crushed to learn via a tablehopper reader last week that Matt Skov of La Cocina passed away on January 21st after fighting a rare form of cancer. He was just 42. I used to work with Matt’s wife, Christa, back in my advertising days, and fondly remember the day when she invited me to join her for a special farewell lunch at Campton Place—where he worked—before their move to Colorado. Over the years, I happily followed their return to San Francisco, where his path landed him as the owner of Ella’s and Blue Fog Market, and then as the kitchen and facilities manager at La Cocina.
He was a good man, earning the name “Papa Matt” while at La Cocina, if that tells you something about the kind of person he was. (You can read their tribute to him here.) He was a mentor for many. My heart breaks for his wife and children, Abby and Izzy, his family and friends, and everyone he worked with and touched; this is such a sad, horrible loss and tragedy.
There will be a memorial service on Saturday February 2nd at 3pm at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley—you can read more here and on the Team Skov page on Facebook.
The family suggests memorial contributions in Matt’s memory to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Division of Development, 10 Brookline Place 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445 in support of the NUT Midline Carcinoma Research Fund; or to La Cocina, 2948 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94110, in support of the Matt Skov Memorial Award, to be given annually to one deserving woman in pursuit of her culinary dreams.
The ever-beaming Matt Skov (photo courtesy of La Cocina).
