Meridian native pens book featuring Caribbean cuisine

By By Penny Randall / staff writer
Dec. 24, 2003
Meridian native and chef Robert Pickens wants readers to experience a culinary journey when they flip through his new book, "Caribbean Cuisine: A Culinary Voyage."
The book is designed for the traveling gourmet, delivering insights into the food, places and people of the islands. Points of interest are highlighted, along with travel information and local food glossaries.
The heart of the book is a comprehensive collection of Caribbean recipes that will forever connect the traveler to his journey. Each recipe has been formatted for ease of preparation and will be equally accessible to home cooks and professionals.
Color photographs give readers a look at the amazing vistas and flavors of the Caribbean.
Other volumes in the series will focus on New England, the Mediterranean, the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf of Mexico.
Location photography for the book was done by Jim Raycroft and food photography was by Ken Epstein.
Pickens graduated from Meridian High School and is the grandson of a restaurateur, where he was first introduced to the world of food.
Years later, while wandering across the country, he further developed his passion for food and decided to attend culinary school. Consequently, to pay for his tuition, he worked as a deckhand on towboats pushing barges up and down the river systems of America.
That was where he developed his other passion life on the water.
After graduation, Pickens spent the next five years training in top restaurants, private clubs and hotels. Today, he is a chef on private yachts where his dual passions for food and life at sea have commingled for more than eight years.
Besides the occasional break to further his education such as stints at famous restaurants, working at a private estate and a world famous private club his winters are generally spent in the Caribbean and summers in New England or the Mediterranean.
DID YOU KNOW?
Book: "Caribbean Cuisine: A Culinary Voyage"
Publisher: RP Coastal Cuisines
How to order: Available at Point Rexall Drug &Gifts and
Reflections of the Modern Garden; also online at
www.culinaryvoyages.com
Cost: $34.95