Chicago is a city of neighborhoods - The Great Melting Pot. It is often referred to as the "Northernmost city of the South." Millions of African Americans migrated to Chicago in the 20th Century, bringing with them the food, music and culture of the Deep South.
The musicians who traveled the "blues highways" of the Mississippi Delta and other areas of the South were drawn to Chicago in the early and mid-Twentieth Century by the city's vibrant recording industry. Thousands of black musicians arrived in Chicago with hopes for a better life and dreams of a recording career. These men and women changed the face of American music, but they also left an indelible mark on the American palate.
In his first book, The Blues Highways Cookbook, Chef Jason Girard (Buddy Guy's Legends, Chicago) takes a look at the music, the culture and the food of the Great Migration.
More than 80 recipes from the kitchen of Buddy Guy's Legends, Chicago's most famous blues club. Forward by four time Grammy Award Winner, Buddy Guy.
Chef Jason Girard was born and raised in the Taylor Street neighborhood of Chicago, just blocks from the historic Maxwell Street Market where the Chicago blues scene was born.
Chef Jason (a.k.a. "Bubba") began working at Buddy Guy's Legends in 1993, as a doorman, while attending culinary School at Triton College, where he graduated first in his class and worked as the editor of the student newspaper. After receiving degrees in Culinary Arts, Restaurant Management and Hotel Management, he attended the University of Illinois as a journalism student, on scholarships from the National Restaurant Association. While at the university, he wrote a regular food column for the student magazine and covered sports for the student newspaper.
Chef Jason and the food at Buddy Guy's Legends have been featured by several local, national and international print and broadcast media outlets, including Nation's Restaurant News, since his return to Legends, as the Executive Chef, in 1996. His recipes have also been served in First Class seating aboard United Airlines flights.
Chef Jason is an avid woodworker and handcrafts most of his own furniture and wooden cooking utensils. He is a Gulf War veteran of the United States Navy and enjoys traveling, football and bass fishing. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife, Christina, and the couple are currently expecting their first child.
Chef Jason has written food and blues-related articles for several major magazines including Chef and Blues Revue. He writes a bi-monthly column for the Buddy Guy's Legends Bluesletter and website.
Chef Jason's hosts his own website and makes regular demonstration appearances at festivals, trade shows and many other public and private events. For media and booking information, please write to:
Blue Chef Management
P.O. Box 3443
Oak Park, IL 60303-3443
e-mail: Management@BlueChef.com
