TEMPLE TERRACE — Is it the cream cheese? The sweetened condensed milk? The Chessman cookies? The chunks of bananas? Or maybe it’s the love Maryrose Owens — and later Eleanor Wells — sprinkled into the now famous recipe?
Whatever made Owens’ banana pudding so tasty also made it memorable, and last week the creamy concoction was designated the Official Dessert of the City of Temple Terrace.
Mayor Andy Ross made it official, blending the city’s past with a little culinary pride. Owens and Wells are two of Temple Terrace’s most beloved volunteers.
And it gave him a chance to take a break from zonings, bonds and code enforcement for just a few minutes.
“When I first heard of this, I thought, ‘You’re really going to make me read this?’’ he said with a smile. “But this is kind of interesting and fun ... it’s really kind of cool.”
In reading the proclamation, the banana pudding wasn’t just a palatable pleasure, but “a symbol of the kindness, dedication and community relation traditions that define the spirit of Temple Terrace.”
“This is such an honor,” said Shashilla Maharaj, president of the Temple Terrace Woman’s Club.
Maharaj said Owens once worried people might forget her after she was gone, but “now we know that she will forever be remembered for her banana pudding.”
Owens passed away on Feb. 5 but left behind a long legacy for helping others. She was a longtime parishioner of Corpus Christi Catholic Church and was involved with a host of clubs in the city, like the Temple Terrace Friendship Club, the Temple Terrace Garden Club and the Temple Terrace Women’s Club. She also volunteered for 50 years for Meals on Wheels of Tampa, serving as the route coordinator for Temple Terrace.
Owens also organized the annual First Responders Breakfast, and it was there where the legend of her banana pudding took root.
“She always brought banana pudding — always — in a big beautiful ceramic bowl,” said women’s club member Susan Vickers. “The presentation was just exquisite. And of course, it was delicious.”
Owens would show up at many of the club’s biggest events, ceramic bowl in tow.
“It was her signature,” said Marguerite Brown and Rosalie Simms, Woman’s Club members. “You knew she was bringing it, so everyone else knew not to make banana pudding.”
While the city has found other ways to honor people, primarily with plaques, Vickers said Owens would have gotten a kick out of her banana pudding being the city’s official dessert.
“She was so kind and generous, and she liked people to like things she did, so she would just be thrilled to have something like this,” she said.
Vickers said they plan on naming the first responders’ breakfast after her. An avid bridge player, there is also a card room at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club that bears her name as well.
Wells also used the recipe to spread joy in Temple Terrace. Cherie Donohue said that Wells was the backbone of every PTA her children belonged to, but once they were out of school and Wells was retired, she took on the city’s first responders as her ceremonial children.
“It was not unusual to see maybe a truck parked at her house, because she had summoned them to come and pick up the banana pudding,” Donohue said.
For years the recipe was a guarded secret, but now it will be part of city lore. Ross suggested creating an annual serving of the banana pudding, while the recipe itself, featuring sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese and layers of Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies instead of vanilla wafers is now being shared publicly.
But the most important instruction on Owens’ recipe is undoubtedly the last one.
“Enjoy.”