As you may have noticed, I’ve changed the title of this weekly feature, which is usually published under the name of Greatest Hits. I have done so out of respect for the top item about the passing of pastry chef Jérôme Girardot. There was nothing great about his untimely death, even if, in life, Girardot repeatedly displayed greatness in his chosen field.

This week’s most-read posts:

1. Ritz Pastry Chef Jérôme Girardot Found Dead in Cameron Station Park
2. A Day in a Life of a Writer for a Newspaper No One Knows About
3. If Carla Hall Becomes the Next ‘Top Chef,’ She Doesn’t Want Her Own Restaurant
4. Former Brasserie Beck Beer Man Bill Catron Now at De Vinos
5. Two Unsolicited Tips for Hostesses and Wait Staffers

There’s no good or delicate way to pass along such awful news, so forgive my straight-forward reportage on this: Jérôme Girardot, a respected pastry chef for the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the West End, was found dead on Monday in Ben Brenman Park in Cameron Station, just weeks after an earlier tragedy in the same neighborhood.

The state medical examiner in Fairfax has ruled the 32-year-old Girardot’s death a suicide.

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