Flair for Cajun Cooking in Connecticut

The flavor of the French Quarter transforms Phil Hubbards’ Ledyard home from Connecticut cozy to Creole crazy – crazy delicious that is!

For Hubbard, an Illinois native and Connecticut resident for the past 35 years, neither state calls to the chef in Hubbard like that little city in Louisiana called New Orleans. 

New Orleans not only inspired a colorful kitchen décor in Hubbard’s home, it’s also the city that engaged Hubbard’s love of cooking. It wasn’t a pinch of this or a dash of that, or even an amazing meal that Hubbard admits are readily available in restaurants throughout the French Quarter.

Rather, it was a splash of Mother Nature and a drop of fate that guided him to a cooking class in the heart Creole country.

“I got caught in the rain and ducked inside the nearest building” said Hubbard. “It just happened to be The New Orleans Cooking School.” And just as Hubbard ducked inside to avoid a typical New Orleans downpour, a Cajun cooking class was about to start.  

“There happened to be an opening in the class,” he recalled. “It was lunch time, I was hungry and I’ve always enjoyed cooking, so I took the class.”

Twenty-plus years later, Hubbard’s affair with the flavors of the Big Easy is stronger than ever. He’s taught Cajun/Creole cooking classes throughout Southeastern Connecticut in schools, businesses and even at private parties.

Hubbard has even branched out to his own line of hot sauces (The Connecticut Cajun Cook Bayou Sauce in Cayenne and Jalapeño flavors), as well as a line of custom blend coffees.

As I was lucky enough to find out, the best way to appreciate the bold flavors of Hubbard’s expertise is to taste them first-hand.

A robust sausage and chicken gumbo simmered on the stove, tantalizingly aromatic and visually enticing.  The chocolate-colored roué (which Hubbard extols as pivotal to a good gumbo), adds a full-bodied, nutty flavor that complements the Cajun and File’ seasoning, while seeping into the tender goodness of the meats. Served with a scoop of white rice and garnished with green onion, Hubbards’ gumbo explodes on the pallet with flavor and texture galore.

And how do you top delicious gumbo goodness? Well, if you were Phil Hubbard, you’d whip up a batch of Banana’s Foster. Easy breezy, says Hubbard.

“If you want to impress your guests with a quick and easy dessert recipe, this is it,” he said.

Although Hubbard enjoys the ease of this savory recipe, he also admits that he does not flambé the dish at home, and found out that it might not be a great idea at a cooking demo either.

During a demonstration at a local cooking class, one thing became very clear, very quickly, as Hubbard flambéed the Banana’s Foster. “Well, their water sprinklers worked really well!” he chuckled.

Even without the flambé, Hubbard’s Banana’s Foster is worthy of being remembered long after its calories have hit your hips. Sliced banana pieces sautéed in butter, brown sugar and rum served hot and spooned over vanilla ice cream may not sound like health food, but it does contain a fruit, and it’s good enough to forgive a few little calories.

New Orleans may be calling for Hubbard to relocate there at some point in his future, but for now he’ll continue to visit the Big Easy at least twice a year and continue to share his talents with many a happy taste bud right here in Connecticut.