Fun-loving Fenzls Chair Dinner in the Stacks
Phoenix doesn’t need “Julie” to channel “Julia.”
We have Barbara Fenzl. And she’s not a blogger.
Les Gourmettes Cooking School owner Barbara Fenzl has cooked with Julia. And with Jacques Pepin as well.
Terry and Barbara went to Aspen three times for the Aspen Food and Wine Festival, and after its conclusion, they always did something with Julia, and sometimes with Jacques Pepin. One year, they cooked together at the home of a mutual friend of Julia and Barbara, and that's where this photo was taken. Barbara
is showing Julia a chayote squash since she'd never seen one, and she claimed it was her favorite dish of the evening. Barbara cooked more than once with both of them and assisted Jacques numerous times.
Barbara has also written popular cookbooks "Southwest the Beautiful" (1994), "Savor the Southwest" (1999) and "Southwest Seasonal Cooking" (2005). She trained at the Cordon Bleu in London and Ecole Lenotre in Paris and has taught at La Combe en Perigord in southern France, Rancho La Puerta in Mexico and the Spa at Lake Austin in Texas.
She and her husband, recently retired Phoenix attorney Terry Fenzl, not only have kept pace with active careers, but also have found time for fun along the way: They ski, they skydive, they travel to Tibet and Thailand.
I met th
e Fenzls at a gala for the Arizona Science Center in 2008, where the theme for the evening was The Prom. The entertainment was Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobbie Rydell.
Barbara wore pink. Pink cat-eye glasses. Pink prom dress. (It fit. She’s slender, so it’s conceivable that she really might have worn it at age 18.)
Terry wore a white dinner jacket. And a bright pink carnation.
The fun-loving pair take their support for myriad community causes seriously.
Perhaps no cause is dearer to their hearts than Phoenix Public Library and what it represents to the community. This year, they chaired the Oct. 15 Dinner in the Stacks, the organization’s primary fundraising event.
Making the decision to accept the chairmanship was easy. The first factor, Terry says, is their long-time friendship with Monica and Terry Goddard, this year’s honorees. The couples have been friends for 35 years, attending each other’s family celebrations and more. “When we were asked to be chairs,” Terry says, “we agreed immediately.”
Recognizing the importance of literacy, though, goes beyond their friendship with the Goddards. The couple have participated in other literacy programs in the past, including Reading is Fundamental and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.
“We recognize the importance of the public library in this or any community,” Terry says.
When their family was young, Barbara enjoyed taking their three children, Allison, Andrew and Ashley, to story time. Now, with five grandchildren, they work to keep the same opportunities available for the next ge
neration.
Like grandparents like grandsons: Soren reads
to Aiden in this photo from December 1998.
“Media has changed,” Terry explains. “The library gives people access to digital media who might not otherwise have it.”
Of course, that takes money – for technology and all that technology entails – computers, software, updates, repairs. Already, young people from 4 to 18 take advantage of the library’s computer and Internet resources after school and in summer programs. Funds raised at Dinner in the Stacks support the new Digital Studio planned for the fourth floor across from Teen Central.
Digital Studio, an interactive learning environment for teens, utilizes technology and capitalizes on social interaction to teach 21st century literacy and job skills. Classes in video production, music production, video game design, and graphic and web design are free.
When the Will Bruder-designed Burton Barr Central Library opened in May 1995, the Fenzls were there. Since then, the Phoenix Public Library system has been a leader in making computer terminals and Internet access available to its constituents. On Oct. 15, the Fenzls helped it take one more step into the
digital age.
– C.Miller
