Two-time winner of the Food Network’s “Chopped” and the host of Snapchat’s first-ever cooking show, Lazarus Lynch makes a splash with his debut cookbook, “Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul.” He pays homage to his father while sharing more than 100 recipes in a fun, unintimidating way.
I plan to try at least 27 of the recipes that fall mainly into three sections: Savage Schnacks, Veggies Ain’t Whack, and Birds on Fleek. The vivid images and unusual food styling serve as a catalyst for Lynch’s personality and love of fashion. He’s my eccentric cousin from New York in my head.
Just like family, he helps readers to prepare like a rock star in the kitchen before the culinary performance. This includes having items on hand from flour, curry powder and maple syrup to a good knife and a cast-iron skillet. The ingredients list can get lengthy at times, but the dishes seem easy and simple to cook. I’m praying to the summer gods that those loaded short rib nachos, BBQ collard green with crispy bacon, oven-fried sticky garlic henny wings, sweet potato pecan cinnamon rolls with bourbon glaze, sticky apple upside-down banana cake and the Put the Lime in the Coconut Rum Bars don’t get stuck to thy hips.
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Lynch grew up in Jamaica Queens watching and helping his father, an Alabama native, cook for people who longed for a taste of Southern comfort food. His mother assisted in the family-owned business during the evenings. Lynch wrote, “My folks approached cooking from a gut level. Cooking was all about pure instinct, being resourceful, and being thankful.” I got the impression from the book that he uses this philosophy too.
In 2014, Lynch created Son of a Southern Chef on Instagram as a love letter to the family’s recipes. He learned to meld Southern cuisine with his mother’s Guyanese roots to win over thousands of fans worldwide. I am now one of them.
Although Lynch’s father passed away in 2015, Johnny Ray Lynch encouraged his son to continue his legacy but take it to the next level. He did just that with this book. Well done.
“Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul,” is available on Amazon and of course we are giving one reader a copy with this month’s Book Grub. Enter below by Sunday, July 28.
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for your chance to win. Meanwhile, I recreated his recipe for slow cooker black-eyed pea and sausage chili that was delicious and made the cut for my fall recipe rotation. Check it out in our recipe section here.
Be sure to follow Lynch on Instagram for recipes and some fun.
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