Cofacci, Gino, 1914-1989

Beard was gay. According to Beard's memoir, "By the time I was seven, I knew that I was gay. I think it's time to talk about that now." Beard came out in 1981, in Delights and Prejudices, a revised version of his memoir. Of Beard’s “most significant romantic attachments” was his “lifetime companion” of thirty years, Gino Cofacci, who was given an apartment in Beard’s townhouse in the will and died in 1989, and Beard’s former cooking school assistant Carl Jerome. John Birdsall, a food writer who won two James Beard Awards, ties Beard’s sexuality to his food aesthetics, and said in 2016 it’s only recently that people are accepting the connection.

<p>Gino P. Cofacci, a retired pastry chef, died of cancer March 1 in a Greenwich, Conn., nursing home. He was 75 years old and lived in Manhattan.</p>

<p>Mr. Cofacci began his career as an architect but with the encouragement of a friend, the late James Beard, he switched to a culinary career in 1972. Mr. Cofacci studied pastry-making in Paris and returned to the United States, where he created elaborate pastries for a number of New York restaurants.</p>

<p>He was co-author of two books, ''How to Eat (And Drink) Your Way Through a French (or Italian) Menu,'' with Mr. Beard, and ''Desserts With Spirit,'' with Robert Carmack, published in 1971. He retired in 1986.</p>

<p>He is survived by a sister, Elena, of Rome.</p>