Who says you can’t go home again?
Oh, it’s been said, but clearly not by anyone who ever knew the RFH grad and famed raging skillet full of chef, author, playwright and punk rock queen of the Jews known as Rossi. Yes, that’s a mouthful of matzo ball soup with a little “L’Chaim!” on the side.
Continue reading Focus: Rumson-Raised ‘Punk Rock Queen of the Jews’ Rossi’s Homecoming 
Yes, Rossi, as we all know her, is coming home to RFH land tonight!
The RFH grad and premier “anti-chef” of the hipster Brooklyn scene has written a memoir about her not so Orthodox Orthodox Jewish upbringing in a preppy Rumson comprised of short stories accompanied by relevant recipes.
Rossi was a kinky-haired, butt-smoking punk rocker with a raucous mouth in a Lilly Pulitzer RFH world in the 1970s and early 80s. Her look wasn’t one that people in these parts were exposed to very often. Neither was her “I am who I am” attitude. She’s still rocking it — in a more staid way, but definitely rocking.
So, it’s only right that the Retro Pic(s) of the Day pay homage to the RFH friend, star caterer, author and master of many other things — like, from day one, being her authentic self and being damn good at it.
Check her out in these priceless pics from her ol’ RFH days. Kids! The middle shot is of her and her infamous not-so-Rumsonite parents, Marty and Harriet. Oh, and by the way, the double shot is her RFH yearbook pic. Yes, we know, most RFH yearbook pics are taken in a natural setting and I can’t recall any, except this one, in which the grad sporting wearing pink feather earrings. It was usually Monet or pearl studs. And, where’s the Fair Isle sweater and turtle neck??
Rossi rocked the anti-prep look!
— Elaine Van Develde
By Elaine Van Develde
Once upon a time, in a Rumson-Fair Haven world overrun with preppy pink and chartreuse, Lilly Pulitzer, alligator shirts, Fair Isle sweaters, khakis, topsiders and duck boots, there was a pint-sized butt-smoking, brash-talking punk rocker with kinky hair and a Cheshire cat grin who packed a punch full of wild on the status quo.
Continue reading Chef Rossi’s RFH Homecoming: A Raging Skillet Full of Authentic
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