I pre-date remote controls. Back in my day, when you were sick and tired of watching a program, you literally had to get off the couch, walk your happy little butt over to the television set, and wrench a giant clunky knob sideways in order to change the channels. The sheer amount of effort involved, combined with the fact that we only had like five or six channels to choose from back then, probably goes a long way towards explaining why we watched what we did. Television wasn’t all that great, simply because it didn’t have to be. Without any competition from video game consoles, streaming services like Netflix, or even DVDs and VHS tapes, whatever was on television at the moment was literally all you had to watch.
In my house, at least, this meant that the Public Broadcasting Service stayed in heavy rotation. PBS was kind of a big deal back in the day—in addition to the daytime heavy hitters, shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the channel’s primetime lineup was no slouch either. I remember watching countless episodes of This Old House, Masterpiece Theater and Antiques Roadshow— all quality programs in their own right. But when it comes to sheer entertainment value, none of these shows could hold a candle to Cookin’ Cajun with Justin Wilson.
I wish I could say that I appreciated the full depth of character which Justin Wilson brought to his kitchen, but that just wouldn’t be true. At my not-quite-mature age of five, Mr. Wilson just seemed like a funny-talking guy with an odd taste for seafood. In fact, when I’d actually come across Wilson myself, it was in the late stages of his career, when he’d accomplished a great deal and reached true celebrity status.
Wilson grew up in rural Louisiana, and even though he took an interest in cooking from a young age, he actually got his professional start by working as a safety engineer. After years spent living on the road, refining his public speaking skills by delivering safety briefings to refinery workers, Wilson’s breakthrough finally came when he was asked to record a series of comedy records. After that, it was on to the big time, including appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, and more importantly, public television channels in both Mississippi and Louisiana.
Justin Wilson died in 2001 at the ripe old age of 87, but I was happy to find that his legacy lives on through a series of cookbooks and kitchen products. Even more importantly, I was thrilled to find that countless new viewers are still discovering this funny-talking Cajun man with the big fish, exactly the same way that I did. So if you haven’t already met Mr. Wilson, or if it’s been a few decades since you last bumped in to him, feel free to check out some of his best work on Youtube.
Even if you’re not a big fan of spicy Cajun food, you’re going to enjoy these videos—
I Garon’tee.