“I love to cook with Texas wild-caught Gulf brown shrimp. My husband,
Roger, who was himself a shrimper in his younger days, is very particular about
the shrimp he eats and made me a believer in ’Texas browns’ years ago.
Having my culinary roots in Cajun-Creole foods, I’m known for the bold and
spicy flavors of my style of cooking. Texas wild-caught Gulf brown shrimp have a
depth of flavor that stands up to lots of heat and spice, and a clean brininess that
is missing in shrimp from other regions. To me, they’re the flavor benchmark
of what shrimp should taste like.”
Terry Thompson-Anderson grew up in Houston in a typical suburban household, except
for the fact that her mother was not much of a cook. When she married after
pursuing a degree in English, she found herself as a new bride who, likewise, did
not know how to cook. Saved from a life of culinary deprivation by a mother-in-law
who was a fine Southern cook from Macon, Georgia, Terry became fascinated by this
new world of cooking. After a move to Austin, Texas, she began to taking vocational
cooking classes at every cooking school that opened. A move to Louisiana made
Terry realize her love of food, and she made the decision to go back to the halls
of academia, only this time to attend culinary school. She also had the privilege,
along with five other women culinary professionals, to spend two weeks of intensive
study with James Beard at the Stanford Court Hotel kitchens in San Francisco shortly
before his death. She says it was an experience that could never be duplicated,
and one that forever changed the way she looks at, purchases, tastes and cooks food.
A nine-page feature in the December, 1983 issue of Bon Appetit magazine brought requests
from across the country for consulting and her first book offer. Terry has written seven
cookbooks, that first one, Cajun-Creole Cooking, was heralded as “the best
Cajun-Creole cookbook on the market” by the Los Angeles Times (HP Books 1986 and
1984; Shearer Publishing, 2003); Eating Southern Style (HP Books 1988 and 1993);
the award-winning Texas on the Plate (Shearer Publishing, 2003); The Texas
Hill Country – A Food and Wine Lover’s Paradise (Shearer Publishing, 2008); and
Don Strange of Texas – His Life and Recipes (Shearer Publishing, 2009.) She also
served as editor for The Cooking School Cookbook (Diamondhead Academy, 1988). Her
seventh book, Lone Star Eats, a compilation of recipes from legendary Texas
cookbooks, which she edited, was released in October 2011. She is currently writing
a comprehensive book on the foods of Texas for the University of Texas Press. Terry also has written for many local and national publications. She serves on the Advisory Board
for Edible Austin magazine and writes feature articles, as well as a
regular column on Texas wineries for the magazine. She has appeared on numerous television and radio programs
across the United States, including Fox and Friends in Times Square in New York City.
After owning her own restaurant in Bay St Louis, MS, a family tragedy brought Terry back to Texas, where she accepted a position as executive chef at the Halliburton Corporation and was in charge of food and beverage service for their executive lodges. In 2004, Terry moved to
Fredericksburg, Texas, in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, to launch a line of food products,
based on recipes from her book, Texas on the Plate. She is sought after as a
culinary consultant, chef, cooking teacher, cooking demonstrator and lecturer/panelist at
food, wine and other events. She remains an active member of the International Association
of Culinary Professionals, the Southern Foodways Alliance and the prestigious Les Dames
d’Escoffier International. She lives in Fredericksburg with her husband, Roger, where
they lovingly tend their flock of chickens, and vegetable, herb and chili gardens.