Lucy “LuLu” Buffett is a Southern businesswoman, author and entrepreneur best known for her Gulf Shores restaurant Lulu’s. She began by cooking her way from coast to coast before returning home to Alabama to open a modest little bayside gumbo and burger joint that doubled as a bait shop. Now she is a successful restaurateur with three locations: Gulf Shores, Alabama; Destin, Florida and North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where she serves over a million guests a year. Her adventures, culinary and otherwise, inspired her to write “Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life,” a cookbook that includes recipes from all over the Gulf Coast and incorporates Caribbean, Cajun, Cuban, Mexican, Old Florida and Creole influences.

In “Gumbo Love,” Lucy Buffett begins with a letter to readers where she explains that the book is a love letter to the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  Her mission is to pay homage to the coastal Southern food culture and continue the conversation she began with her first book “Lulu’s Kitchen.” Along with over 100 recipes, she shares stories of her childhood growing up in Mobile, Alabama as well as the adventures she has had traveling as a cook, the times she spent working as a chef in New Orleans and her attitudes on life, which includes relaxation, gratitude and seizing the day. She shares her mother’s philosophy of “Life is short-east dessert first” so she begins with Chapter 1: Life Is Sweet: Eat Dessert First.  Each subsequent chapter is a category of delicious recipes accompanied by colorful pictures: Starters and Snacks, Gumbo Love and other Heartwarming Soups, Main Dishes, Vegetables and Sides, Deep-Fried Favorites: A Southern Must, Salads, Sandwiches, Vacation Libations and Mocktails and Coasting the Gulf Party Menus.

Lucy Buffett’s love of cooking and appreciation for the Gulf Coast shines throughout the pages of “Gumbo Love.” More than a cookbook, it is a collection of stories, background on food and dishes and recipes that have shaped her life and livelihood. The gorgeous pictures make the food and locales come alive. It is understandable that she wants to share the recipes she loves to make, but a handful of them are restaurant quality with too many ingredients and too complicated for the average cook. Some of the easier ones are for Salads, Starters and Snacks and Sandwiches as well as the cocktail recipes. Standouts include Cuban Yellow Rice, page 181 and Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad page 229. In the Introduction, her ‘Ten Grateful Ingredients for a Bright Life and a Happy Kitchen’ is worth reading as is ‘How to Gumbo Lulu: A few notes on Gulf Coast Cooking Essentials.’ It also includes valuable ‘how to’ tutorials, such as ‘How to Shuck an Oyster’ on page 55.  Overall, “Gumbo Love” is an impressive cookbook that will appeal to reads who appreciate excellent recipes and entertaining stories.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.