TV cooking host, author Simpkin dies

In 1949, when television was in its infancy, a New York City advertising firm approached Fedora Bontempi Simpkin about hosting a cooking show. Ironically, she didn't even own a TV set then.

It was the popularity of her table-hopping remote radio program at a popular restaurant in Long Island and her respected cooking knowledge that made her an ideal choice for a show.

The New York show, launched with her then husband who was an operatic and concert singer, would continue in one form or another for the next 18 years. Wanting to develop her own image, Simpkin wouldn't watch other cooking shows for fear she would subconsciously imitate them.

Leaving the glare of the television cameras, Simpkin moved to Las Vegas 37 years ago to be near her daughter, Didi Carson, whom she described as her best friend. Simpkin, who had authored several cookbooks and continued to write cooking articles for newspapers and other publications, became very active in local organizations.

Best known as the coordinator of the Clark County Mother of the Year Awards, Simpkin died Monday at age 91. A memorial service will be 1 p.m. Aug. 27 at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church.

Simpkin was as passionate about the Mother of the Year Awards as she was cooking. In 1970, she helped coordinate and emcee the first awards program to honor local mothers. But the following year, when the organizer wanted to make it a commercial venture, she took it over and formed the non-profit Clark County Mother of the Year Awards Committee.

The purpose of the awards is to honor the "unsung heroes" of Clark County. Simpkin wanted to dispel the notion that the only women who lived in Las Vegas in the 1970s were showgirls and prostitutes. She wanted to show that the community was made up of families, and Las Vegas was a good place to raise children. She developed the program that honors several women each year in a variety of categories for their accomplishments as mothers and community members.

Last May, the committee, with Simpkin at the helm, honored nine women at its 28th annual awards presentation.

The seemingly boundless spirit and work ethic that buoyed her 18-year television career spurred Simpkin's involvement in Las Vegas community affairs. She was active in the St. Jude's Women's Auxiliary, the Mesquite Club, Salvation Army, Clark County Women's Democratic Club and Democratic Central Committee and the National Council of Senior Citizens. She was a past board member of the Museum Guild of Southern Nevada and the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

In an interview with the Sun in 1970, Simpkin spoke about her early years in television in New York. In the beginning, the shows were live, which offered some unforgettable moments.

"On one show I made stuffed peppers cut in half in shells. I couldn't find the right pan, so I put them on a cookie sheet without a rim and put them in the oven," Simpkin said.

"When they were done, I went to get the peppers out of the oven and hold them up for the camera. I started to say, 'Here are my stuffed peppers,' when they flew right off the cookie sheet and into the cameras. ... I got so many requests for my 'flying stuffed peppers."'

Food companies often gave Simpkin products to test on her shows. In addition to teaching people gourmet cooking -- while keeping within their budgets -- Simpkin interviewed entertainers.

Simpkin also loved to travel for pleasure and to collect recipes. She traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the Orient, Mexico, and South America, and led several gourmet tours to the capitals of Europe. She once joked that she traveled all over Europe "without getting pinched once."

As a food consultant, she created original recipes for many food manufacturers and is the author of three paperback cookbooks. Her hard-cover cookbook, "The Bontempi Cookbook," was published by Prentice-Hall in 1965. It won the Culinary Society Book of the Month Award twice in 1966 and 1968. It also had three printings in paperback.

Her cooking shows were the first to introduce the art of the classic cuisine of Italy (her paternal relatives were owners of a chain of hotels on the Italian Riviera). In recognition of her achievements, the president of Italy in 1961 gave her the "Star of Solidarity" and the title of "commendatore," an honor that was bestowed on few women, for her work with Boys Town in Rome.

Some of her cherished moments of Italy was a private audience with then Pope John XXIII in 1962. A photograph of the occasion had a special place in her home. A devout Catholic, she also had audiences with Pope Pius XII, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.

Simpkin worked for a time as director of public affairs for KLAS-TV 8. She created many public service programs, and broadcast a daily gossipy program called Our Town.

In 1969, she helped organize and served as the first president of the Las Vegas Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television.

She continued to write food and restaurant reviews for various local and national publications for many years.

In addition to her daughter, Simpkin is survived by her husband, Samuel Simpkin.

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