Spending summers in Mississippi with his grandmother created more than lifetime memories for Wilbert Jones. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as the fifth child of six, Jones moved to Chicago when he was young. He would visit his grandmother who cooked for an Italian family that had immigrated from Naples, Italy.
During that time, the family faced discrimination for not being Southern, so Jones’ grandmother was hired to learn and cook authentic Italian food and would do so for the next 40 years. He describes the experience as watching “someone performing in the ballet.” His grandmother just had it like that. She could read and write but never followed a recipe. Instead, she used an old tried and true technique; cooking with all five senses.
One would think that after witnessing such performances summer after summer, that a culinary career would be the first choice for Jones. Not exactly the case. The pre-med student who eventually earned a degree in Chemistry from Loyola University started a fruitful career with Kraft General Foods as a food scientist. It was not until the company offered an exchange program to France that Jones really started to tap into his culinary memories and talents created while growing up.
In France, Jones attended the E'cole de Gastronomique Francaise Ritz-Escoffier cooking school. While the program was both challenging and rewarding, he learned that some things never change. In addition to learning how to cook using universal French standards, the school also taught an old familiar one; cooking with one’s senses. Recipes were not allowed in the kitchen which for him created a greater appreciation for the art once again.
Jones left Kraft in 1993 and started his own company called Healthy Concepts, Inc. With valuable experience under this belt and a new found passion for creating great food, the company consults in product development for the food and beverage industry. His first client was Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem who was coming out with a line of can goods. From there, the client list grew as did a new and very successful career.
A pioneer in his day, Jones was on the cutting edge of introducing the concept of healthy soul food cooking in the late 1990’s. He has written three books: Mama’s Tea Cakes, Smothered Southern Foods and The New Soul Food Cookbook and entertained the best of the best including the late great Julie Child who was a fan of his smothered rabbit and Chef Marcus Samuelsson.
In January 2010, Jones’ show Taste of Africa will air nationally and showcase the culinary wonders of South Africa and neighboring countries. He is also working on another book project that will highlight American breakfasts and brunches.
For Jones, he is truly at the height of his career and what comes next will only just add to the memories and the stories that started unknowingly as a child back in Mississippi.
Cuisine Noir asked Jones to share a few party planning tips with our readers for the upcoming holidays and beyond. This is what he told us:
- Know purpose of the party. Very important when deciding who to invite and the menu.
- Put guests together who are opposites. As they say, opposites attract.
- Organize, organize, organize. And organize.
- Have the menu set in advance and don’t be intimidated when pairing with wines. If you are not sure what wines to select, call your local winery or a sommelier and ask them to assist you.
And as many will say, relax and enjoy yourself and your guests.
