Springfield is mourning the loss of a mainstay on the city's culinary scene.
Longtime Chef Wayne Hooker passed away earlier this week.
Hooker was known as the chef and owner of Cajun restaurant The Big Mamou, which closed due to the pandemic but reopened earlier this year as Mamou's.
Mayor Domenic Sarno remembered Hooker as a "huge personality and big promoter" of the City of Springfield.
(Photo from Springfield Mayor's Office)