It’s been five years since I traveled from Lafayette, Louisiana, to compete in Napa, California, on the nationally televised Food Network Challenge. It was September 2008 at the Sutter Home Winery Build-A-Better-Burger cook-off where, as a finalist, I cooked my Bluesiana Burger and won the respect of the judges. I guess that out of 9,000 burger entries, first runner-up was pretty respectable.
Meat, bread, and other stuff —some might say burgers are pretty simple. To be honest, they are correct—a basic, plain, and simple hamburger can oft en be memorable. So, the premise of my new Louisiana burger is best described as simplicity and focus on quality ingredients that elevate the basic experience. If truth be told, simplicity can take a lot of thought —and work.
For me, cooking is…
