Chef Etouffee and the Great Gumbo Day
Illustrations by Laura Schiller
Story by Marilee Joy Mayfield

Chef Etouffee (pronounced A-2-Fay) and his staff of Henri, Cheri and Bernard have a sweet little bistro. It’s perfectly situated at the edge of town—just a short walk and you’re in the countryside. They even have their own garden patch. Ah, yes, the serenity of vegetables and herbs and flowers. Except...wait a minute...what is all that shouting?

Uh, oh! Chef Etouffee is having a terrible food preparation day...he has boiled his creme brulee and to make matters worse he’s deflated his signature souffle. His face is turning all blue...Oh no...what is he doing? He’s thrown his hat off and he’s kicking it...the customers are getting nervous... there’s an explosion of pots and pans and then the customers run screaming away.

And now Henri, Cheri, and Bernard have been left with a huge problem! A classical harpist and 25 guests are due at the bistro in a few short hours and thanks to the Chef’s temper tantrum there’s NO FOOD TODAY.

Written in loose flowing rhymes and illustrated with eccentric, whimsical characters by children’s character artist Laura Schiller, Chef Etouffee and The Great Gumbo Day is a story your whole family will enjoy. Is it a story about a chef who has a temper tantrum? Yes, but it’s also a story about ingenuity, entrepreneurship and the challenge of teamwork. Is it a story about a great gumbo? Yes, it is, but it’s also a story about the spices and ingredients of creativity.

At the end of this 64-page full-color book, there’s a glossary of pronunciation and terms as well as student activities for teachers and home schoolers.

Shown below are a few sample pages from this delightful book. Click on the links at the top of this page to see more...