Featured here are some two hundred of Tom Cowman's delights. Alongside
are anecdotes, narratives, and pictures that enhance them. He collected
them himself, intending that one day they would showcase his recipes, but
his death in July 1994 cut short his intentions, and his nephew has
finished the compilation.
These are among Tom Cowman's signature dishes: Trout Mousse, Roast Long
Island Duck, Liver ŕ l'Orange, Lamb Curry, Barbados Rum Trifle, and, la
pičce de résistance, Cowman's Chocolate Cake, Almond
Amaretto Mousse, Banana
Coconut Rum Cake, Orange
Grand Marnier Mousse. The recipes for these and
many other delectables are included in this cookbook that divulges a
master chef's secrets.
In 1961Cowman left a ten-year career in advertising in New York City to
open his first restaurant. It was called 234 and was located on East 58th
Street. Next, he moved to Gordon's Restaurant in Amagansett on Long
Island. But his great reputation was made when he established Tom Cowman's
Restaurant in the Maidstone Arms, a resort hotel in East Hampton. The food
there achieved three stars (out of a possible four) from Craig Claiborne,
the food critic of the New York Times. In the 1970s Cowman moved to the
kitchen of Restaurant Jonathan on the edge of the French Quarter in New
Orleans. Next, at his pinnacle, he was chef at Upperline in the uptown
district. He became so celebrated in New Orleans that it is a natural
pleasure for his many friends to share their favorite stories about him
and his famous kitchen.
For him, cooking was a form of theatre. "Cooking," he said,
"brings the kind of instant gratification you don't get out of
anything but acting." Tom Cowman had a passion for good food. Every savory recipe in this
book attests to his gustatory passion. It not only manifests this
particular chef's brio but also serves as an enticement that the culinary
delights be shared and passed along.
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