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TRIBUTE: As those who knew and loved her continued to mourn the death of North Jersey celebrity chef Jessica Vogel at only 34 years old, her family spoke of how determined the former contestant of the Food Network's "Hell's Kitchen" was, no matter the odds.
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"This morning my soul was ripped from me!!!" wrote longtime boyfriend John Michael Keyser of Teaneck. "With a heavy heart my love...my better half has passed on. I love you Jessica!!!!!"
"Hell's Kitchen" Chef Brett Beyer posted: "RIP HK Family Member Jessica Vogel your infectious laugh and smile will be missed. You were always a joy to be around..my condolences to your family."
Vogel, a Jersey Shore native who'd recently lived in Westwood before returning to her family's Spring Lake home, reportedly had been in and out of several hospitals for more than a year with what she'd said was cirrhosis of the liver.
Keyser reportedly said she died of colitis.
Vogel was well-known in North Jersey restaurant circles, having worked as a pastry chef at Grange in Westwood, then a sous chef at Picnic on the Square in Ridgewood and an executive chef at Artisan Kitchen & Bar in Hawthorne and Black Rebel Burger in Hackensack.
In an October 2017 post on medium.com, she wrote:
"Me and I, my two favorite words. So naturally when my sister says start a blog, the narcissistic alcoholic in me thinks me and I. Perfect. I’m f****d up. Truly. Sure. I was on Hells kitchen with Chef Ramsay and Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network. I went to culinary school in Denver, grew up at the Jersey shore was raised by Mormon nannies in a mansion, dated a coastie and had a stint of living near strippers in St. Pete, Fl.
"I’m weeks away from 34 years old and got told I drink too much and have cirrhosis. Did it stop me from pouring shots of alcohol? Nope. Did my lifestyle of sex, drugs and foie gras come to a born again Christian revelation? F**k that noise.
"Life is a blaze of glory."
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