Former Alexandria resident publishes cookbook

Bob Wechsler, formerly of Alexandria, recently wrote and released a 152-page cookbook titled It’s Magic to raise money and awareness for organ and tissue donation in memory of his son, Cristopher “Crist” Wechsler.

Crist was pronounced brain-dead on June 15, 2004, four days after falling down a flight of stairs. It is believed he may have had an aneurysm. He was 28 years old.

Crist was an organ and tissue donor. The Wechslers later received notification that his donation helped 100 different people. One of those people was Jay Sheldon of Elbow Lake, who received Crist’s heart. (Their story was shared in the Echo Press on July 16, 2008. Search “The Beat Goes On” in the online archive at www.echopress.com.)

“One of the reasons I wrote the book is that there is such a need. There are more than 100,000 on the list for a donation and every day 18 of those people die,” Wechsler said.

Wechsler has been a chef most of his life. He earned a degree from the Culinary Institute of America and ran a restaurant in Atkinson, Illinois before moving to Elbow Lake to run the Cattle Club Café.

He and his wife, Sherry, have since moved back to Illinois where he works part-time at The Cellar in Geneseo.

Many of the recipes in the cookbook are ones he used at his restaurants. The recipes range from soups and salads to main dishes to breads and rolls to desserts.

To purchase a cookbook, call Jay Sheldon at (651) 308-5054 any day after 10 a.m. All profits from the sale of the cookbooks will go to LifeSource Organ and Tissue Donation (www.life-source.org).

Tags: life, cookbook, published