Justin Wilson's Louisiana Cookin' (1982-2001?)

First I have to note that multiple sources only show the start date of 1982 and no end date. Justin Wilson died in 2001, and a single source says that is when the show ended. I honestly don’t recall it lasting this long however.

Justin Wilson wrote several popular books and even did a few comedy shows in his time. He had political ties, but I won’t be going into that at all. This is about his cooking show.

I have fond memories of this show. The particular PBS station we got here in Moose Jaw, was out of Boston and the show aired twice a day when it was on and I got to see it on the evening showing.

Not only was the cooking outstanding to emulate, but he was so very entertaining. His humor was not everyone's cup of tea, but a hell of a lot of people seemed to have gotten it, because the show was very popular.

Now you have to realize I had not moved out of home yet, and my parents would only consume extremely bland food, so the cooking was only for me. As well, I often got complaints from mom that it was making it hard for her to breathe. I severely doubt that to this very day however, the fact is she literally did not want me to be eating this “spicy food”. She had strange ideas about spice and some stupid superstition I just don’t recall, but it had something to do with demons (no I’m not kidding).

The food was actually not all that hot if you ask me, the spice level was such that most people could handle it I think. However in the 1980’s in Moose Jaw, it was actually difficult to get some of the stuff needed and I had to venture to Regina (another city) to get it.

I made the corn bread the one time and the parents tried it and of course hated it, but I absolutely loved it. My parents would not even eat brown bread at the time, only the boring white bread with all that bloody sugar in it and a total lack of taste other than wallpaper paste taste.

As well my parents thought that food literally had to be cooked into a solid state (burned) to be safe and they thought I was going to be sick from this properly cooked food.

When I moved out on my own, things were tight, and it was harder to cook like this, as it is notably more expensive to do so. Nice food takes more money. So it was rare that I made some of the meals I had written down in my notebook from his show.

Back to the show. It was a spectacle of beauty, flash, humor and southern style that was very alluring to most people I knew. I wish I had purchased some of his cookbooks back in the day. They probably still are out there, but it’s pointless now as I don’t have the money to cook actual nice and tasty meals these days.

On a side note, I have had corn bread many times since I made it several times from his recipe - but it has never tasted as good as it did then. There was one in a box that came close to my memory of his work of art, but it was not the same. However this could be me romanticizing the corn bread I cooked all those years ago.

All in all, I loved his show and even just to watch him at work was a pleasure and so entertaining. There were many OK cooking shows in the past, but I don’t think anyone will ever do a better job of it than Justin Wilson.

Last note. I have tried to find the Christmas cooking special he did the one year, and although others verify it exists - I’m starting to wonder if it actually did or not. Could this be the Mandela Effect? I may never know. And lastly, he is one of very few celebrities that I would like to have met in person.

Rating: IMDB 8.7/10 ME 10/10