cooks profile
THE INNOVATIVE GOURMET
Entrepreneur and traveling speaker Terry Jones cooks for fun and flavor.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
PHOTOS BY CHRIS HOLLOMAN
It stands to reason that a man whose entire professional life was built upon innovative ideas would approach cooking with that same spirit.
Indeed, as the founder of both Travelocity and KAYAK, Terry Jones constantly is searching for creative solutions to common problems. Take, for instance, his answer to an untimely power outage.
“I was in the middle of making a quiche; the power went out, and I had an electric stove,” Jones recalls. “I was meeting friends at Baldwin Beach (on Lake Tahoe’s south shore) for a picnic and I thought, ‘What am I going to do?'”
Undaunted by this culinary roadblock, Jones channeled his thoughts from the kitchen to the open road.
“At the time, I was driving one of those Chevy SSR pick-up trucks with a closed truck bed,” Jones says. “It was really hot that day, so when I was about an hour away from Baldwin Beach, I put [the quiche] in the closed truck bed. I figured it was at least 200 degrees in there. So by the time I arrived at the party, the quiche was completely done. Voilà! Truck quiche!”
New Cook
The 65-year-old hasn’t always been interested in cooking. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that the kitchen was off limits.
“My former wife was a gourmet cook, and I’d never been allowed in the kitchen,” Jones explains.
However, after he got divorced and moved to Lake Tahoe from Texas, the tables turned. His older brother, a former National Geographic photographer who lives at Tahoe’s south shore, invited Jones to join a weekly summer picnic club with a few friends. The picnic fare ranged from KFC to downright gourmet offerings.
“When the summer ended, I suggested we continue to meet as a gourmet club, and we have for many years,” Jones says. “I enjoy being challenged, and cooking is just a lot of fun, especially with friends.”
The gourmet group is composed of a dozen good Tahoe friends who love to gather monthly and enjoy themed dinners. They’ve traveled around the culinary globe, trying their hands at cooking specialties of France, India, Spain, and beyond.
Three years ago, Jones kicked up his culinary expertise a notch and attended a cooking school in Provence, France.
“It was supposed to be a class of 15, and it ended up being just two guys,” Jones recalls. “It was amazing. I’ve never chopped so much in my entire life! Among other things, the chef taught us that it’s better to clean up as you go instead of creating a firestorm in the kitchen.”
On the Road
These days, Jones spends 150 days a year traveling what he calls “the rubber chicken circuit,” speaking on innovation, leadership, and the evolving digital world. He recently published a book entitled ON Innovation, which includes 72 short ideas on how to build teams, create a workplace culture, and select the best ideas.
Jones has remarried and, happily, his new wife, Ginny, also possesses culinary enthusiasm and doesn’t mind sharing the kitchen. The couple divides time between homes in San Clemente and Incline Village.
At press time, Jones was busy planning a joint birthday party for his brother and himself. Not surprisingly, it isn’t a run-of-the-mill gathering.
“I’ve rented two private rail cars, and we are going to take 14 people from Seattle to Los Angeles,” Jones says. “We will have a chef and a porter/waiter, and I’m sure we will help with the cooking.”
Jones says they will have two full days of travel and six meals based on historic train food. And as it is a big celebration, there will be plenty of spirits, including vintage-themed cocktails, wine, and a special after-dinner treat.
“I scored a 1948 bottle of cognac — the year I was born,” he says. “I haven’t told anyone about that part yet!”
Writer Ann Lindemann has never cooked a quiche in her car trunk, but she has tried (unsuccessfully) to fry an egg on the sidewalk outside her Michigan childhood home.
Creamy Mushroom Soup with Tarragon
(courtesy of Terry Jones. Serves 6)
The bread disappears into the soup to give it body. Dried mushrooms enhance the flavor or the fresh mushrooms. For a nice presentation, sauté some additional sliced button mushrooms to use as a garnish with the chives.
2 teaspoons butter
1¾ cups onion, chopped
⅓ cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup dry white wine
1½ teaspoon sea salt, divided
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 8-ounce package button mushrooms, chopped
1 8-ounce package cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 slice whole wheat bread (1¼ ounces)
5½ cups mushroom or vegetable broth
⅔ cup half and half
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
Melt butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, porcini mushrooms, tarragon, thyme, and bay leaf. Sauté 10 minutes or until onions are lightly browned. Add garlic and cook two minutes, stirring frequently. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Add button and cremini mushrooms. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place bread in food processor and pulse five times, or until crumbly. Add the resultant breadcrumbs and vegetable broth to the Dutch oven. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
Place about 2½ cups of cooked mushroom mixture in blender and process until smooth. Pour puréed soup into a large bowl. Repeat process with remaining mushroom mixture. Add ½ teaspoon salt and half and half.
Serve in bowls topped with chives and perhaps a single sautéed mushroom.
Note: If you want fewer carbs, simply leave off the bread.
