Respected journalist and teacher John Heckathorn died this morning after suffering a heart attack on Christmas Day.
Heckathorn was with Honolulu Magazine for more than 30 years, serving as the editor and restaurant critic for many of those years. Friends and colleagues say his sudden death is a tremendous loss. His influence over the years has been immeasurable.
"The staffers that he's brought in the writers that he's coached and mentored over the years. He was an English professor at UH, that's what originally brought him to the islands, so few people are more qualified than him to help writers with their writing," says Honolulu Magazine Editor Kam Napier.
Heckathorn had been the publication's restaurant critic since the late 1980's. It was a time when a revolution of sorts was about to begin in the restaurant industry: the birth of Hawaii Regional Cuisine.
"He helped to raise awareness of it, supported it through his writing in the magazine, and was very invested personally in helping in his way as a writer to make all those transformations happen," said Napier.
With the transformations came the eventual rise of celebrity chefs, like Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, and Chef Mavro. They were all names that also became known in the culinary world outside of Hawaii. Heckathorn brought readers up to speed in the changes and became part of the movement.
"The dining scene really became something that belongs to people here in Hawaii with local chefs and local ingredients, and a cuisine that mixed all the cultures that we have.">
More recently he took a full time position as a journalism teacher at Hawaii Pacific University. But he continued his monthly restaurant reviews for the magazine. Heckathorn is survived by his wife and three daughters. He was 65 years old.
