Urrutia Randelman's family are arranging an open bookstore meeting in memory of their revered relative, the author of best-selling cookbook “The memories of a Cuban Kitchen”. They are aiming to revive her legacy of passion for and excellence in cooking traditional food from Havana half a year after she died of cancer in her new home in Miami. An early migrant into South Florida, she brought with her recollections of a lifestyle that was brutally swept aside by the Castro regime. Coming from a well-to-do family of tobacco plantation owners, in her younger days she was exposed to the best what Cuba has to offer in terms of its cuisine and manners.

Her cookbook became a must-have guidebook that continues selling incredibly well and can be found on the selves in hundreds of places, from private homes to Cuban restaurants to, oddly, the pita bakery in the center of Miami. Her memories, which she confronted with hours of interviews with other emigres to verify facts and years of practice and experience with Cuba's specialities to hone her recipes on her own, are part cooking, part anthropology. Interestingly, many of these traditions are now stronger in South Florida than on her native island. It feels a little like a computer data recovery Miami is doing to revive the wonders of pre-Castro cuisine and lifestyle.

Due largely to her passion for Cuba and her kitchen, her family have become devoted to cooking and preservation of the art that might have otherwise got lost. Their latest initiative to promote Urrutia's legacy is a flavor-packed tribute evening at Miami's Books and Books, which is free and includes both book talk and plenty of Cuban food and drinks to savor. And luckily, these delicacies are here to stay thanks to Urrutia and her relatives.