
Two Cooks and a Suitcase
Revised Edition. In the Autumn of 1989 Doug Bell and Rhoda Robertson slicked back their hair, packed their knives and closed the door of their Rhythm & Blues Restaurant for the last time to become the Travelling Cooks. They set off on the Rock 'n' Roll adventure of a lifetime.
Their plan - to cross the States and head down Mexico way.
Their mission - to sample the local cuisine and collect the very best recipes en route.
The rules - to have fun and get drunk...... a lot.
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The first stop was Boston, where the cooks rented "The Love Room", part of a mad hippie's dream commune. Next, New Orleans for a taste of Southern hospitality in the raw, supplied by a shotgun-toting schizophrenic and his punk rock sidekick. After the Big Easy - Mexico. Land of chiles and dead dogs.
In Oaxaca the combination of a chance meeting with the local narco traficantes and a tenuous command of Spanish led to big trouble, the drug dealers believing they'd struck a massive deal with our confused cooks. Only luck and the intervention of a hairlipped Mexican karate expert saved the day. It was definitely time to move on. They headed to Progresso in the Yucatan where a tight trousered Salsa God led them to the self-proclaimed Queen of the Caribbean (and occasional estate agent) Lupe Pinto.
Lupe found them a hacienda, introduced them to everyone in town and taught them the secrets of Hot cooking. In honour of the mighty woman, the Travelling Cooks opened Lupe Pinto's Deli on their return to Edinburgh and set about producing a book of travel stories and recipes from the Grand Adventure. Two Cooks And A Suitcase is now published and available go to Cookbook for more information. |