Howard Mitcham
Encyclopedia
James Howard Mitcham was an American artist, poet, and cook best known for his books on Louisiana
's Creole
and Cajun
cuisines and that of New England
, with an emphasis on seafood
.
Deaf from spinal meningitis as a teenager, Mitcham attended Louisiana State University
and moved to Greenwich Village
where he owned an art gallery. He acquired a reputation as a bohemian, raconteur, and "Renaissance man", spending much of his life in Provincetown, Massachusetts
and New Orleans. He contributed a column to the Provincetown Advocate, since absorbed by the Banner.
Many of his books combined personal memoir and recipes with his own woodcuts and drawings. Anthony Bourdain
has described Mitcham's Provincetown Seafood Cookbook as "a witty, informative ode to local seafood, sprinkled with anecdotes".
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
's Creole
Louisiana Creole cuisine
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Asian Indian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine...
and Cajun
Cajun cuisine
Cajun cuisine is the style of cooking named for the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" immigrants deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation...
cuisines and that of New England
Cuisine of New England
New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the northeastern region of the United States known as New England.It is characterized by extensive use of seafood and dairy products, which results from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry, as well as extensive...
, with an emphasis on seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
.
Deaf from spinal meningitis as a teenager, Mitcham attended Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
and moved to Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
where he owned an art gallery. He acquired a reputation as a bohemian, raconteur, and "Renaissance man", spending much of his life in Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
and New Orleans. He contributed a column to the Provincetown Advocate, since absorbed by the Banner.
Many of his books combined personal memoir and recipes with his own woodcuts and drawings. Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
has described Mitcham's Provincetown Seafood Cookbook as "a witty, informative ode to local seafood, sprinkled with anecdotes".
Books
- Fishing on the Gulf Coast, 1959
- Four tales from Byzantium, 1964
- Provincetown Seafood Cookbook, 1976, ISBN 0-940160-33-1
- Creole Gumbo and All That Jazz: A New Orleans Seafood Cookbook, 1978, ISBN 0-201-05585-6
- Maya o Maya!: Rambunctious fables of Yucatán, 1981
- Clams, Mussels, Oysters, Scallops, and Snails: A Cookbook and a Memoir, 1990 ISBN 0-940160-46-3
External links
- Obituary from the New Orleans Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Times-PicayuneThe Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
, from Rootsweb - Biography at the Provincetown Banner
- Article in the New York Times including Bourdain's comments