52
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2013
Lu
’
s News
by
Lu Brow, Bar Chef, Café Adelaide &The Swizzle Stick Bar +
photos by
Frank Aymami
I
’ve always thought I was lucky. Lucky
enough to grow up in a family that
appreciated food that was cooked from
scratch. And lucky enough to know that
what we ate was different from what most
of my friends had for dinner. Home canned
vegetables, jellies, jams, chow-chow... Hog
Head Cheese? The way my aunts covered
up that hogs head I never really knew it was
a real head! Cracklin’s? In cornbread. In an
iron skillet of course.
I spent a lot of summer days shelling peas
and butterbeans and helping my mom cook
our meals. I grew up thinking that the
preparation of food and cooking was fun. I
always tell people that everything that was
in my Mother’s heart came out on a plate.
I started my restaurant career in the front of
the house because I liked the idea of being
part of an industry that made people happy.
The smells of the kitchen and all of the
laughter reminded me of growing up with
family before we all sat down to a great
meal. Whenever I heard a cocktail being
shaken or stirred it always put a smile on my
face. (We sure didn’t have that at home!!!)
I watched the chef making magic out of
complex flavors. Some would complement
each other, others added complexity to
the dish. I must have asked him a million
questions about how he put together flavors
and how he became so creative. Finally one
day he recommended a couple of books to
me and I was hooked.
So a bartender called out sick? One on
vacation? No problem, I would volunteer to
work the shift. Just because I’d get to make
the cocktails with all of the ingredients
I found fascinating. When I finally got
behind the bar it was due to circumstances
out of my control. A little weather problem
called Hurricane Katrina. I thought to
myself that if my world changed due to a
hurricane then I’d change it once again and
do what I had always wanted to do which
was be behind the bar full time. Making
drinks. In a way it’s sort of like cooking.
Now as Bar Chef at Café Adelaide, I’m doing
what I love: making drinks and talking about
pairing food with cocktails. Don’t panic; I
promise I won’t take you too far out of your
WHERE THE
S H O P
BAR CHEFS
