Chef Lynnie
“It all began on a winter’s day in mother’s kitchen,” Executive Chef Lynn Johnson expounds when asked how he became interested in a career in cuisine. His mother was Master Chef Leona Johnson of Portland, Oregon fame whose mastery of flavors and textures was just as creative in her kitchen at home as it was in the one at the restaurant, Flanagan’s Inn. “From an early age I would watch as my Mother prepared food with only the finest of ingredients and generous portions of her love. Food, she would say, “is a way of bringing people together.” And bring people together she did, whether at the restaurant or around our dining room table, Mother’s culinary masterpieces put smiles on the faces of people from around the world and it was during those times that I would sit in her kitchen and watch her at work, and I would sample, (oh how I loved to sample), as she prepared many of her signature dishes. Those were the best of times.”
We are sitting at a table in the restaurant at The Grand Hotel in Natchez, Mississippi sipping tea. Chef Lynnie, as he is known professionally, becomes misty eyed when recalling his early days. He would watch his mother intently as she prepared her dishes and, ever the curious one, would pepper her with “why’s”. Why did you do this? Why did you use that? Chef Lynnie had started his culinary training but was not quite aware of it at that age. He just knew that spending time with his mother and family was something he treasured…a sense of “famiglia”. Master Chef Leona, a nut about cleanliness in the kitchen, assigned him a broom when he was old enough to work by her side. Once again, he asked his mother why. She gave him a look and told him “Before you work with the food, you have to work with the broom”. While not happy with that explanation, young Chef Lynnie did as he was told and learned from that as well. He eventually worked his way into handling the food and cooked his first hamburger at the tender age of 15. “I burned it to a crisp”, he laughs, recalling the disaster. “ I had yet to learn about hot spots on a grill and that each grill has a personality all its own.” He also learned his mother’s special way to cook. “She cooked by feel,” he smiled. “That’s the way I learned to cook.”
Chef Lynnie has maintained an interest in fine cuisine throughout his life, throughout high school, his stint in the Air Force during Vietnam, and especially when he met the love of his life, Trish Phillips Johnson, 17 years ago. This was a period in his life when his passion for food and people intensified. Never interested in ordinary fare, Chef Lynnie worked with and learned from many great chefs and worked in many great restaurants. He is a serious student of food and food history and his eyes light up when he discusses those subjects. He still likes to take on-line classes and read books on the subject to expand his knowledge and improve his skills. He puts it simply, as he sits back in his chair at the restaurant, “I like to cook what I like to eat”.
He brought his unique style of fusion cooking to Tupelo and met another Chef, Robert Bristow, a specialist with Southern food. They hit it off immediately and decided to put together a local event “Mardi Gras on Main Street” to bring Louisiana to Tupelo. Gumbo, shrimp boil, muffalettas were some of the dishes served and hundreds of people came to partake of the food and fun. Chef Paul Prudhomme taught Chef Lynnie how to make gumbo. Then he added his touch to make it his own. The event was a huge success. In the American South, he is simply known as Chef, a term of respect reserved just for him. However, he doesn’t want to stop there. “I push myself to be the very best I can be,” he says. “I am very driven and competitive. “
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