About Us

  Michael Elliott Thibodeaux was born on March 18, 1950 on Chicago’s Southside. While attending Corpus Christi Elementary school and then, Hales Franciscan high school, he developed an early passion for cooking, in part due to his mother’s newly established overnight working hours and his father’s dreadful results when cooking.

After graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in mathematics, Michael became an IT professional with a forty-two year career working for such diverse companies as AT&T, The Northern Trust Bank, Motorola and the City Colleges of Chicago. The love for cooking continued throughout this period, perfected through experimentation and passion.

Fueled by the culinary talents of his New Orleans heritage, he studied and observed the preparation and serving of Creole and Cajun dishes. Nanna Thibodeaux (mom and after whom my website is named), Aunt Leona and cousin Ruth became his teachers and mentors until their passing on to a “greater reward”.

He has cooked primarily from his home preparing Gumbos, Jambalayas and Etouffee for select clients of his catering business, FoodForAlma. He has had chef responsibilities for the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. His clients of noteworthiness are: State Senator Jacqueline Collins, St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Chicago State University President Dr. Wayne Watson, Ashley’s Quality Care Health Services, Dr. Evonne Wilson, several weddings and dozens of friends who seem to show up at the house around dinner time, especially during holidays.-------

I really like my gumbo! My roux is very dark, a result of extremely hot oil, flour and my whisking technique which results in a silky smooth roux without a hint of a flour or scorched flour taste. My specialty gumbo has five meats – crab, shrimp, crawfish, chicken and Andouille sausage. I make a poultry stock and a fish stock*, measured in precise amounts. My seasonings (always fresh) most notably file are blended and required to get to know each other intimately before use in any of my dishes. The trinity of peppers, cayenne, black and white, along with the trinity of vegetables, green pepper, onion and celery are cooked in the roux then, added to the simmering stock. Also, I prefer green onions because they bring out a flavor nicely. Add the meats and simmer for 2 hours and, voila!!!! The first day, the gumbo is great! After two, three days, it is the ”bomb”, world class, c’est magnifique!

I make a chicken and Andouille sausage jambalaya and a seafood (crawfish, shrimp, lobster) jambalaya. The former with a poultry/veal stock and the latter with a seafood stock. After sautéing the meats and vegetables, the seasonings. Stock and rice are mixed in with the meats. The entire dish is the baked for about one hour resulting in a most succulent jambalaya!* The backbone of fish and the fish head produce good meat and flavor. The fish shell (shrimp, crawfish lobster) flavors a fish stock, too.

My dessert list includes, chocolate chip/pecan cookies and peach and blackberry cobblers. My specialty desserts are my melt in your mouth New Orleans bread pudding with lemon sauce and my pecan/almond brownies. For the bread pudding, I use very stale French bread with the crust on. The bread absorbs the pudding mixture best when it is dry and stale.  The pudding is a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs and milk. The sauce is made from fresh lemon juice, sugar, water and vanilla, thickened with cornstarch or arrowroot, The secret to my cake-like brownies is the melted semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate, the cocoa and the sour cream.-----

1. Michael simply enjoys cooking. More importantly, he revels in the satisfaction expressed by those who partake of his meals. He encourages everyone to cook with passion and commitment. To make all food dishes healthy and yet, flavorful. And lastly, to enjoy life to the maximum!!! Joie de vivre!!