Jimmy Buffett, Norman Van Aken, and Key West
A chef and a musician form a friendship and forge careers in the Conch Republic
This past weekend Jimmy Buffett — songwriter, singer, and the person who put Margaritaville on the map — died after a four-year-long battle with Merkel-cell carcinoma.
At 76, Jimmy was as youthful as any 30-year-old. Just last February I joined thousands of Parrotheads to watch him perform a three-hour show at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. The passing of a man who was so full of sheer joy was a hard pill to swallow for many. It seemed like everyone had a story to tell about Jimmy, but Norman Van Aken had some of the best.
The chef, considered by his peers as, “the founding father of New World cuisine” and owner of Norman’s in Orlando, was a young man making his bones behind the burner in Key West in the 1970s — around the time a young musician was playing guitar for anyone who would listen around town. Neither of the two men were natives of the Southernmost point in the United States (Van Aken was born in Illinois, while Buffett hailed from Mississippi), but both felt an immediate sense of home in Key West — and would forever be part of its fabric.
On a call a few days after the news of Jimmy’s death (somehow it feels wrong to call him anything other than Jimmy), Van Aken told me that it was in 1973 (or 74), that a girl he knew introduced the two. “She said, ‘Norman, this is my friend Jimmy Buffett.’ Of course, it was right in front of Sloppy Joe’s,” says Van Aken.
Their paths would cross many, many times, and a friendship would grow.
Van Aken recalls cooking the late night shift at a place called The Midget, where Jimmy would play under a giant tree in the restaurant’s yard. Later on, as both of their careers progressed, Van Aken was hired as chef at the now-iconic restaurant, Louie’s Backyard in 1985. He had received a rave review from the Miami Herald and his first book had just been published. Van Aken had the idea to keep a copy at the restaurant, asking patrons and local celebrities to sign it — including Jimmy. Van Aken still has the book with the inscription, which reads:
To Norman — I knew you when neither of us were famous (in Key West). Your pal, Jimmy.
Then there was the time Van Aken fell out of Jimmy Buffet’s second-story window. The chef had just gotten off a shift at work and was relaxing with a few drinks while Jimmy and musician Keith Sykes were collaborating on a song. Van Aken was sitting on the windowsill on the second floor when he fell. Jimmy and Sykes ran down to find that the chef had fallen onto a pile of sand that Jimmy had in his backyard for some long-forgotten reason. “I was fine and they went back to writing the song,” says the chef.
And, as a chef rightfully should, Van Aken even gave Jimmy some cheeseburger advice. “Jimmy opened the first Margaritaville restaurant on Duval Street and the owners and I were becoming fast friends. I took a break and went to Margaritaville for lunch and ordered a cheeseburger. Jimmy walks up to me at the bar and says, ‘Hey - let me ask you something. Do you like red onion or white onion on your burger?’ I said red onions make a better visual and Jimmy said he was going to use them. Years later, I tell people that I was the one to tell Jimmy what onions to put on his “Cheeseburger in Paradise”.
Van Aken said he thought Jimmy especially resonated with chefs. “Not to be cute, but he struck a chord with people. He allowed people to live a life of imagination. A lot of chefs live life in a pressure cooker. Jimmy’s music allowed them to escape.”
For Van Aken, the escapism of Jimmy Buffett's songs hit close to home. Not only did he know Jimmy, but he knew many of the real people behind the lyrics. “Key West was chock a block with crazies and burnouts and authors. “A Pirate Looks at 40” is one of my favorite songs, and I know who that pirate was. Key West changed my life and it changed Jimmy’s life. It’s one of the luckiest things that could have happened to both of us.”