Tied in a Bow October 2014 | Page 14

Tupelo, Mississippi is now his home base of operations. 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. Around Tupelo, 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. “ That enormous drive and a desire to document all the recipes passed down from his mother led the Chef to write his first book, “Delicioso”, due out in late November. Delizioso is Italian for delicious and the Chef anglicized it with a c into delicioso. With this book, Chef Lynnie is bringing restaurant food to the home kitchen. In addition to his family recipes, it also contains some of his favorite recipes and they are all ordered so that anyone can follow them in the order they would need to be prepared. “Delicioso is my dream, a project, and a pain in the rear all rolled into one,” he says. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. The book is set up in order with appetizers, soups, entrees, desserts included. Any element can be added to other elements to make a meal. So the menu is very modular in that respect. The book will also have anecdotes and funny pictures from Chef Lynnie’s past. “The book is all about a celebration of flavors,” he smiles with pride.

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