Justin Wilson (chef)
Encyclopedia
Justin E. Wilson was a southern American
chef
and humorist known for his brand of Cajun cuisine
-inspired cooking and humor. He was a self-styled "raconteur
" and a staunch political conservative.
Wilson was born in Roseland
in Tangipahoa Parish, one of the "Florida Parishes
" of Louisiana. He began his career as a safety engineer
while he traveled throughout Acadiana
. His safety lectures that he made to refinery workers prompted him on the road to becoming a Cajun storyteller. He remembered it this way on the back cover of The Justin Wilson Cook Book:
Wilson later recorded several comedy albums, beginning with The Humorous World of Justin Wilson on Ember Records
. He also recorded several albums for Jewel Records
on the Paula label and a few for Capitol Records
. He later appeared as a guest on the popular CBS
series The Ed Sullivan Show
. He was known for the catchphrase, "I gar-on-tee!". Wilson as a comedian was enormously popular in Louisiana, and to a lesser degree in neighboring states, but his humor may have been a little too specifically regional to enjoy the wider popularity of a Jerry Clower
or Archie Campbell
as a Southern comic for the country music
audience.
He later wrote seven Cajun cookbooks and two books of Cajun stories, and hosted several cooking show
s on PBS that combined Cajun cooking
and Cajun humor. Most of them were aired from the studios of WYES-TV
in New Orleans.
Wilson was politically active in his early years. His father, Democrat
Harry D. Wilson, was the Louisiana agriculture commissioner in the first half of the twentieth century (his mother, Olivet Wilson, was Louisiana French). In 1951-1952, Justin Wilson was the manager of the unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Lieutenant Governor William J. "Bill" Dodd. He and Dodd were close though they often disagreed on political philosophy. Wilson's brother-in-law, Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr.
, was the Democratic attorney general
of Louisiana from 1948–1952, having served between the two terms of Fred S. LeBlanc
.
Over the years, Wilson, a conservative
and known for his emphasis of patriotic themes, became involved in numerous Louisiana political campaigns. Former state Senator Donald Wayne "Don" Williamson
of Caddo Parish recalls Wilson having cut a commercial for his own Democratic challenge to incumbent Insurance Commissioner Sherman A. Bernard in 1979. Williamson said that Wilson just volunteered to help him. Williamson only narrowly lost to Bernard, who later went to prison for fraud in the handling of his job duties. In time, Wilson's ties to the Democrats soured, and he supported numerous Republican
candidates. It is not known whether Wilson himself became a Republican.
Wilson's last residence was in Summit
in Pike County, Mississippi
.
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
and humorist known for his brand of Cajun cuisine
Cajun cuisine
Cajun cuisine is the style of cooking named for the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" immigrants deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation...
-inspired cooking and humor. He was a self-styled "raconteur
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
" and a staunch political conservative.
Wilson was born in Roseland
Roseland, Louisiana
Roseland is a town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,162 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace of Cajun chef and storyteller Justin Wilson.Roseland is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in Tangipahoa Parish, one of the "Florida Parishes
Florida Parishes
The Florida Parishes , also known as the North Shore region, are eight parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana, which were part of West Florida in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it had been...
" of Louisiana. He began his career as a safety engineer
Safety engineering
Safety engineering is an applied science strongly related to systems engineering / industrial engineering and the subset System Safety Engineering...
while he traveled throughout Acadiana
Acadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
. His safety lectures that he made to refinery workers prompted him on the road to becoming a Cajun storyteller. He remembered it this way on the back cover of The Justin Wilson Cook Book:
- "Way back when I first started as a safety engineer, I took myself pretty seriously, and I found I was putting my audiences to sleep. So having lived all my life among the Cajuns of Louisiana, and having a good memory for the patois and the type of humor Cajuns go for, I started interspersing my talks on safety with Cajun humor."
Wilson later recorded several comedy albums, beginning with The Humorous World of Justin Wilson on Ember Records
Ember Records
Ember Records was the name of two record labels of the 1950s and 1960s, one American and one British.-1950s to 60s:In the late 1950s, the eccentric avid jazz fan Jeffrey Kruger, owner of the famous Flamingo Jazz Club, was looking for a new challenge...
. He also recorded several albums for Jewel Records
Jewel Records (Shreveport record label)
Jewel Records was a record label founded in 1963 by Stan Lewis and based in Shreveport, Louisiana. It had two subsidiary labels, Paula and Ronn. The first of many retail record stores, called Stan's Record Shop, was opened in 1948...
on the Paula label and a few for Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. He later appeared as a guest on the popular CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
. He was known for the catchphrase, "I gar-on-tee!". Wilson as a comedian was enormously popular in Louisiana, and to a lesser degree in neighboring states, but his humor may have been a little too specifically regional to enjoy the wider popularity of a Jerry Clower
Jerry Clower
Howard Gerald "Jerry" Clower was a popular country comedian best known for his stories of the rural South. He was often nicknamed "The Mouth of the South", although this title has also been used for other individuals.Clower began a 2-year stint in the Navy immediately after graduating high school...
or Archie Campbell
Archie Campbell
Archie Campbell was an American writer and star of Hee Haw, a popular long-running country-flavored network television variety show...
as a Southern comic for the country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
audience.
He later wrote seven Cajun cookbooks and two books of Cajun stories, and hosted several cooking show
Cooking show
A TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. The host of the show, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of the show, taking the viewing audience through the food's preparation showing all...
s on PBS that combined Cajun cooking
Cajun cuisine
Cajun cuisine is the style of cooking named for the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" immigrants deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation...
and Cajun humor. Most of them were aired from the studios of WYES-TV
WYES-TV
WYES-TV is the primary Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. It broadcasts on virtual channel 12.-History:...
in New Orleans.
Wilson was politically active in his early years. His father, Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Harry D. Wilson, was the Louisiana agriculture commissioner in the first half of the twentieth century (his mother, Olivet Wilson, was Louisiana French). In 1951-1952, Justin Wilson was the manager of the unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Lieutenant Governor William J. "Bill" Dodd. He and Dodd were close though they often disagreed on political philosophy. Wilson's brother-in-law, Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr.
Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr.
Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr. , was the Democratic attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana from 1948–1952 during the administration of Governor Earl Kemp Long. He was allied with the Long faction in state politics....
, was the Democratic attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Louisiana from 1948–1952, having served between the two terms of Fred S. LeBlanc
Fred S. LeBlanc
Frederick Saugrain LeBlanc, Sr., known as Fred S. LeBlanc , was a 20th century politician in the U.S. state of Louisiana who served two terms as his state's attorney general and was firmly allied with the anti-Long faction of the predominant Democratic Party.-Background:LeBlanc graduated in 1916...
.
Over the years, Wilson, a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and known for his emphasis of patriotic themes, became involved in numerous Louisiana political campaigns. Former state Senator Donald Wayne "Don" Williamson
Don W. Williamson
Donald Wayne Williamson, usually known as Don Williamson , is a semiretired American businessman in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish and the largest city in north Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature between 1968 and 1980...
of Caddo Parish recalls Wilson having cut a commercial for his own Democratic challenge to incumbent Insurance Commissioner Sherman A. Bernard in 1979. Williamson said that Wilson just volunteered to help him. Williamson only narrowly lost to Bernard, who later went to prison for fraud in the handling of his job duties. In time, Wilson's ties to the Democrats soured, and he supported numerous Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidates. It is not known whether Wilson himself became a Republican.
Wilson's last residence was in Summit
Summit, Mississippi
Summit is a town in Pike County, Mississippi, USA. The population was 1,428 at the 2000 census. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area....
in Pike County, Mississippi
Pike County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,940 people, 14,792 households, and 10,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 95 people per square mile . There were 16,720 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...
.
By Justin Wilson
- The Justin Wilson Cook Book (1965)
- Justin Wilson's Cajun Humor (1974)
- Justin Wilson's Cajun Fables (1982)
- More Cajun Humor (1984)
- The Justin Wilson #2 Cookbook: Cookin' Cajun (1979)
- The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook (1984)
- Justin Wilson's Outdoor Cooking with Inside Help (1986)
- Justin Wilson's Homegrown Louisiana Cookin' (1990)
- Justin Wilson Looking Back: A Cajun Cookbook (1997)
Other authors
- William J. "Bill" Dodd, Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics. Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991.
- Kevin S. Fontenot, "How Y'all Are: Justin Wilson and Cajun Comedy" in Accordions, Fiddles, Two Step and Swing: A Cajun Music Reader. Ryan A. Brasseaux and Kevin S. Fontenot, eds. Lafayette: The Center for Louisiana Studies, 2006.
Discography (partial)
- I Gawr-On-Tee (1961)
- The Humorous World Of Justin Wilson (1961)
- Justin Wilson's Wilsonville U.S. and A. (1965)
- Whooooo Boy (196?)
- Justin Wilson Says, "Me, I got a frien'!" (196?)
- The Wondermus Humor Of Justin Wilson (196?)
- Hunting With Justin Wilson (1972)
- Justin Wilson, The Old Master Story Teller (1972)
- Justin Wilson Meets Jean (John) Barleycorn (1973)
- The Sport (1974)
- Justifyin' Justin Wilson (1975)
- Justin Wilson Reading Christmas Stories (1975)
- Caught Dem Fish (1979)
- Courtin' Songs (1979)
- Christmas Cajun Style (1979)
- Laugh A Little With Justin Wilson (198?)
- Truckin' With Justin Wilson (1980)
- Justin Wilson's Ol Favorites (1982)
- The Unforgettable Stories Of Justin Wilson (1985)
- Pass(ing) A Good Time With Justin Wilson (1986)
- The Crazy Cajun Comedy Of Justin Wilson (1987)
- Shot Dem Duck and Hunt (1996)
- If It Ain't Fun, Don't Do It (200?)
- Justin's Picks (200?)
- Cajun King of Comedy (2009)