Page 16 - March & April

14 MYROUSESEVERYDAY MAY | JUNE 2013
A t the age of seven, while most of
my friends were playing Barbie or
dress up, I was playing restaurant.
I was fascinated by the sights, sounds and
smells of my mother cooking in our family’s
restaurant; I would watch in amazement as
she worked a mortar and pestle to create the
dressing for a papaya salad, or cooked Paht
Thai and noodle dishes in a gigantic wok.
My mom is a native of Thailand. She
met my dad, Merlin Chauvin, a Cajun -
Frenchman from Lockport, when he was
working in Bangkok. They married and
settled in Gretna, but my mom missed her
native food, and her mother. Eventually my
grandmother arrived in Gretna, where she
lived with us, and helped my mom opened
Mai Tai, the first Thai restaurant in the New
Orleans area, and introduced locals to the
authentic taste of Thai cuisine.
I “worked” at the restaurant putting spoons
in the dishes and wiping the sides of the
plates before they left the kitchen for the
dining room. I guess you can say that my first
real restaurant job was as an expeditor.
I must admit, as a young girl I was a little
jealous everyone at the restaurant was
calling my mom “Mama”; but considering
her loving and affectionate nature it was a
fitting moniker that everyone who knows
her still uses to this day.
Mama eventually opened a couple
restaurants and I was very lucky to grow up
at her side working at all of them. After
Mai Tai, Mama opened Bangkok Cuisine
in Mid-City, the first Thai restaurant in
New Orleans. I eventually felt the need to
explore a little and struck out on my own
so I headed to California for six years.
Surprisingly, my mom was very supportive.
After soaking up the finer features of the Los
Angeles restaurant scene I returned home,
Chef Diana Chauvin
Mama & Me
“I’m the gumbo king. My mom taught me how
to cook it when I was 14 years old. She also
taught me that cooking should be fun. When
you see me making my gumbo at Jazz Fest or
any of these other great festivals, I’m doing what
my mom taught me – cooking and having fun.
—Chef Ernest Prejeans, Prejean’s, Lafayette
“I grew up on soul food, fried pork chops and
stewed collards. We ate veggies, but they were
cooked a lot. They’d sit in a pot on the stove for
a couple hours. My mom also kept a coffee can
with bacon grease by the stove. Cleaning your
plate was a big thing in my family.”
—Chef Allison Vines-Rushing, MILA, New Orleans
“My mom has the gourmet touch in the family.
I’m one of 35 cousins on my dad’s side, and for
big occasions, like Thanksgiving, my dad was in
charge of the outdoor cooking. But my mom is
so cool. She would inject the turkeys with cham-
pagne. I grew up eating everything. I was eating
sushi by the time I was 4. That’s her influence.”
—Chef Juan Carlos, SoBou, New Orleans
to help Mama manage La Thai Cuisine,
which she opened with my brother in 1999
and to open two new restaurants, Panasia
& Sweet Ginger, both downtown. That’s
when my mom was most encouraging.
Mama was at my side through all of
the restaurants. And when I moved the
restaurant to Uptown New Orleans after
Katrina; Mama was by side then too!
My mom can still be seen in the restaurant
cooking, cleaning or just cruising the dining
room saying hello to all the familiar faces
from over the years who simply know her as
“Mama”! You’ll also see my brother,Merlin,
a well-seasoned restaurant professional in
his own right, greeting and chatting with
guests. I’m blessed to have a career doing
what I love, and most importantly, doing it
with those I love.
FOOD MEMORIES So many local chefs credit their mothers for their intrest in cooking.
Chef Diana Chauvin and mama, Punnee Chauvin
MOTHERS
DAY