RALPH VENDERLIP’S LIVES ON

Unadilla House Chef’s Recipe

Packs ‘Em In At Fish Dinners

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal

UNADILLA – For six years, Chris Hendrickson worked alongside his friend Ralph Vanderlip in the kitchen of the First Presbyterian Church here, making the same haddock dinner Vanderlip made famous at the Unadilla House.

“The church told Ralph they wanted him to help with their Lent fundraiser dinner,” said Hendrickson. “He said he would, but only if I helped him.”

But this year, the annual dinner Friday, April 5, served as a memorial to Vanderlip; he had died Tuesday, March 12, at age 72. “We did it together every year,” Hendrickson said. “There was a camaraderie there. Not many people can say they have a good time cooking in a kitchen under pressure.”

Vanderlip was born Dec., 13, 1947 Cannonsville, where his family ran the general store until 1962, when the creation of the Cannonsville Reservoir to provide drinking water for New York City forced them to relocate.

“Someone made a documentary about Cannonsville and they interviewed him,” said Martha. “He used to tell people he was a movie star!”

The two men went to school together, and Vanderlip, a friend of Hendrickson’s older brother, got a degree in hospitality from SUNY Delhi and worked for a time with Marriott in Washington D.C.

“He didn’t take any cooking classes at SUNY Delhi,” said his wife, Martha; the two married in 1972. “But he learned a lot when he was working for Marriott, and both his mother and his grandmother were phenomenal cooks. They taught him early.”

The couple moved to Rochester so that he could work at his brother Keith’s restaurant, but soon returned to Unadilla to raise their family, sons Aaron and Brad and daughter Katie.

“He liked to cook everything,” said Martha. “I loved his Scallops Mornay and his Chicken Francais. He worked really hard creating his recipes.”

In the late ’80s, he joined the Unadilla House, where he quickly made a name for himself. “People would wait for two hours to eat there,” said Martha, who served as the hostess.

As Unadilla House chef, Vanderlip brought cosmopolitan cuisine to the county. “He would put frog’s legs on the menu!” said Martha. “He had people who loved them, so he’d call them up when he was doing a special and they would make reservations.”

And when he needed some extra help in the kitchen, he would bring in Hendrickson. “The Unadilla House was one busy place, thanks to Ralph,” his friend said.

The chef was also well known for his prime rib and house-made salad dressings. “We could have sold his poppyseed and his blue-cheese dressings by the gallon,” joked Martha.

“Food was his passion,” said Hendrickson. “He cooked a lot at home too. When we first started doing the dinners, we’d get a big spiral cut ham, and he’d take the bone home at the end of the night to make soup.”

But his fish had a special place in people’s hearts. “There’s no secret,” said Hendrickson. “But a little lemon pepper and lemon zest goes a long way.

When the Unadilla House closed in 2009, Vanderlip retired after 26 years, but he wasn’t done cooking. “He cooked for the church and for Rotary,” said Hendrickson. “People were always so happy to see Ralph in the kitchen, they said they couldn’t wait to have that fish again.”

And having worked under him for six years, Hendrickson was able to recreate the recipe for hungry diners on Friday, April 5. In all, 155 turned out for the dinner, with some of the proceeds going to the Unadilla Emergency Squad in honor of Vanderlip.

“We had a great friendship,” said Hendrickson. “And he was well-liked by everybody.”