Loreal Gavin - The Butcher Babe Cookbook: Comfort Food Hacked by a Classically Trained Chef

Celebrity Chef and winner of Cutthroat Kitchen

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This book is dedicated to
MY GRANDMOTHER, SUSIE GAVIN.

Loreals love for cooking was made quite evident to me when she was only 4 or 5 years of age. One of her most favorite things to do as a child was to watch me cook. She would push a kitchen stool up to my cabinets, and would want to help with anything and everything I was preparing for our meals. Grandma, let me stir or Grandma, let me roll the dough.

She wanted to learn how to prepare steaks (which she called the meat with lines on it), because her grandfather told her it should become one of her favorite foods to make her big and strong.

The years passed. I shared my cooking and baking skills with her, and after graduating from high school, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. She moved to Louisville, Kentucky to become a student of culinary arts.

Because I came from a farm family of 11 children, I taught Loreal the importance of making much from little. Our food consisted of animals, a large garden and an even bigger truck patch where my parents planted potatoes, navy beans, melons and cantaloupe. We also had an orchard with all kinds of fruit trees, including grape vines, strawberries and raspberries.

Food was plentiful but never wasted. Loreal learned from me that you dont throw away good food, because another meal can always be made from leftovers by adding some new ingredients.

Perhaps this explains why when she was a little girl she told her friends my grandma is a scratch cooker.

It really amazes me that she has the ability to add a few new things, then a little bit of this and that to make some of my old traditional family recipes more savorya completely new taste.

I am proud of her and all her accomplishments, and hope you enjoy the recipes as much as she enjoyed sharing them with you.

As for me, I will always think of her when I have good things to eat, and continue to tell the story of my granddaughterThe Butcher Babe.

Susie Gavin

In my grandmas old country house, I was introduced to an ingredient that she knew deep in her bones. This ingredient is a part of every dish she creates. This uncanny flavor lingers on your lips for years. Ive seen many cooks make beautiful dishes, but forget to add this one important component. You cant buy this ingredient at the grocery store or grow it out in the garden, because it lives within you.

This ingredient is love. This cookbook and the recipes Ive created to share with you encompass the values and flavors from a more simple time with Southern flare. You often hear the saying, They dont make things like they used to. Such can be said for lots of recipes floating out there in the world.

My childhood memories revolve around the garden posts where my bare feet grew deep roots. As a little girl in Louisiana, I loved playing in the dirt and my curious nature sprouted wild like weeds while I grew like one. I didnt grow up with much, but I sure as hell never went hungry.

Growing up, I never really left the garden. My first job was detasseling corn. If you dont know what that is, then consider yourself lucky. The only thing I earned that summer was a nice farmers tan under the hot Indiana sun and respect for the blue-collar condition.

Luckily, Im not a stranger to hard work so I began doing dishes in a restaurant. At 15 years young, I started finding little pieces of myself in every laborious task I met. It felt good bringing smiles to the faces of people Id never meet. My glamorous life as a line cook had begun, and before I knew it the chef life completely swept me off my feet. Cooking was my first love, and let me tell you, I fell fast and hard.

After years of working in the Midwest, I found myself bored of cooking for racecar teams and master distillers. So, I started to work in a family-owned butcher shop. The butcher shop life felt like home to me, and I was proud to have the experience as a cornerstone of my education. Lets be real here, I also did it for the steaks.

My Southern roots were having a hard time flourishing in the cold, harsh winters of Indiana. Eventually my gypsy spirit started tugging at my sleeve for something new. I sold or gave away everything I owned except for my guitar and my dirt bike. I took a one-way, solo train ride out to the Bay in California. My family and I couldnt tell if I was crazy or brilliant.

I found myself struggling to live the American dream within the walls of a hostel on Telegraph Avenue. As a last resort before calling home crying, I tried out for a show on Food Network as a joke. They liked me, no, they loved me, or at least Alton Brown did. I ended up almost winning the Next Food Network Star. I found myself under the bright lights of television.

Behind white knuckles and some red lipstick, The Butcher Babe was born. I went on to win Cutthroat Kitchen. Who knew this little country bumpkin would end up cooking on television, headlining food shows nationally and writing a cookbook! I owe all my success to my country roots, good soil, music, motorcycles, art, faith and lil salt n pepper. A great red lipstick never hurt either.

I invite you to spend time with this book. Let its stories and flavors inspire you to create your own recipes
and share them with the ones you love. Smile with your eyes and cook with your heart.

xoxo

Back in the day, I used to try to cook all my barbecue on the grill, only to realize after several burnt pieces of pre-sauced meat that they were just burning to death. If youre going to sauce your meat, do it after its done cooking and then finish it on the grill. Thats the key to success there, guys. Also, start off with a nice and clean grill. I like to use an old rolled-up towel thats been doused in oil. Ill take a pair of tongs and quickly run it over the grates of the grill after a good brushing.