Photography by Steve Buchanan
The pandemic has caused a great deal of isolation for people, especially among senior citizens. Stuck alone at home, the days can seem endless. There can be some joy, however. Larry Paz comes knocking on the door to cheer you up. He loves people and loves to talk. His reputation centers on being the chef of the Oxford Community Center and the Holy Trinity Church who cooks delicious food for people and posts entertaining videos.
Paz goes above and beyond that for the community center. On top of the once-a-month cooking day for area residents that also serves as a fundraiser, he comes in additional days to prepare and deliver meals to those who can’t make it to the facility or are in need.
“He brings more than the food,” Oxford Community Center Executive Director Liza Ledford says. “He brings a hilarious story or joke. He can talk to anybody. He is known for his smile and laugh. It’s really contagious. He is memorable and fantastic. When you see his face, he has a real distinguishing mustache.”
The 73-year-old Paz leads a team of volunteers that cooks meals and dishes at both the center and church. Customers can pick the food up at the center, while Paz and his helpers make deliveries for the Holy Trinity Church to homes in Oxford and Trappe through its outreach program. Paz cooks dishes like shrimp and grits, pasta, and paella, and they are made once a month for 40 to 60 people.
Paz and volunteers, including Robert Hyberg, James Foster, Lee Walker, and Dennis Roberts, also have made special items for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration with about 200 people snatching up the food quickly. He has been cooking for the community center for nine years.
“I used to be vice president of the center for a year,” Paz says. “We used to farm out all the food preparation. Back then, I told the president, ‘We could do this ourselves. He said, ‘Do you really think so?’ I said, “Yeah.”
Paz has always loved to cook and actually attended the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan for six months. In the following years, he continued to develop his culinary skills during get-togethers with other institute students.
One thing Paz really enjoys at the center and church is that he gets to use his imagination. “He will make up a menu and cook whatever he wants,” Ledford says. “It’s not like there is a fixed menu every month. He comes up with some fun menus and he puts it out on the internet. People order them and we will deliver them around.”
Ledford calls Paz, an Oxford resident, a local celebrity. For five years, the center has been shooting videos of his cooking classes and putting them on its website and Facebook and Instagram.
Photography by Steve Buchanan
“Everybody knows me,” says Paz, a Manhattan native who owned an elevator company for 30 years and moved to Oxford 15 years ago before retiring. “Between the church and the Oxford Community Center, those are two big organizations.
“There is a guy who writes a Saturday newsletter,” he adds with a chuckle. “He will say internationally renowned Chef Larry Paz.”
It was his involvement with the community center that led to his cooking at the church. For the Trinity church, Paz and his helpers cook full meals with a protein, vegetable, fruit, and dessert.
“A lady at the church asked me if I would help her husband, who at the time was making soup,” Paz says. “He was an attorney and he got sick. I took over and I have been doing it ever since.” One of the reasons Paz may continue to cook for the church and community center is all the positive feedback he gets.
“He is fantastic,” Ledford says. “Everybody loves everything he makes. We have never had a complaint. I always make sure I am on his food list. I get to bring home extras and be his taste tester.”
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