Chef for event shares love of Cajun food

Combining delicious Cajun-style food, good company, lots of fun and even more strings of beads is a proven recipe for success for Powell Medical Foundation’s annual Mardi Gras celebration.

The annual fundraiser on Tuesday was even bigger, thanks to its move to the new Exhibit Hall at the Park County Fairgrounds.

“We sold 285 tickets this year,” said Foundation Director Jennifer Tippetts. That’s an increase from around 200 in past years, when the Mardi Gras took place in The Commons, which has less space.

More than 30 health care workers and other community volunteers helped with serving food and drinks and provided donated items for silent and live auctions.

Guests bought hundreds of strings of beads for $1 each, then presented them to their servers as a reward. The top server, Sara Boardman of Powell Valley Healthcare’s physical therapy service, ended up with 29.1 pounds of beads, some of which were contributed by co-workers/waiters.

Tippetts said proceeds from the Mardi Gras will help pay for a new ambulance for Powell Valley Hospital, but she didn’t have totals yet on Wednesday.

“We’re planning on buying a demo model, and those cost about $120,000,” she said.

As in the past, the chef for the event was pharmacist Tim Seeley, formerly of Powell, who now lives and works in Thermopolis.

The distance hasn’t put a damper on his enthusiasm for the annual Mardi Gras. The event takes many hours of cooking and preparation time — he and his wife, Lynnae, spent 41 hours cooking before the event, with another 15 hours contributed by other volunteers — but Seeley said it’s a bunch of fun as well.

“I read cooking books and cooking magazines like crazy. It’s my favorite activity,” he said. “They say a lot of times musicians think in notes and things like that; I just think food all the time.”

Seeley said he met with foundation leaders months ago to decide what to serve for the Mardi Gras this year. They talked about previous years’ menus and chose some of their favorites for this year: A shrimp boil with corn on the cob, Cajun sausage and potatoes, followed by steak and shrimp gumbo for hors d’oeuvres; a main course of chicken Tchoupitoulas on pastry with sour cream and Hollandaise sauce, served with cheesy spiced grits; ham hocks, butter beans and kale; sweet and spicy cornbread and a green onion accent. Dessert was bread pudding with lemon sauce and Chantilly cream.

Seeley said he loved the extra space and convenience provided by the recently finished kitchen in the Exhibit Hall.

“Oh my, it was wonderful — so much smoother,” he said.

Even though the setup for Tuesday’s meal was more difficult than in the past because there were more food items, the new kitchen accommodated the situation well, he said.

Most of the food was cooked in that kitchen, with some cooked at the kitchen at Powell Valley Healthcare. The hospital dietary department supervised the food preparation at both sites.

“We worked closely with Travis Tucker and his staff,” Seeley said. “They’ve become just absolute pros at this.”

Seeley said his biggest disappointment was running short on gumbo and beans and greens. “Just trying to adjust our recipes from previous years, from 200 count up to 285 count, there’s a fair amount of guesswork involved. I sure hate the idea of anybody not getting every item.”

Foregoing a vegetable would not be a big deal under most circumstances, but “Cajun vegetables are a prize,” he said.

Seeley said his love of Cajun food began after he became a single dad and had to start cooking.

“I went to New Orleans on a conference, and I ate at NOLA’s and I thought it was the best place I ever ate. Then I went to K-Paul’s,” and that was just as good, he said. “I bought Paul’s book when I got home — ‘Louisiana Kitchen,’ best cookbook of all time — and it just took off from there.”

“There’s very little you can do for people and get more positive feedback than cooking,” he said. “It’s just a heartwarming activity. ... I even like doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Anything that’s related to food, I dig.”

Cooking is something Seeley enjoys so much that he even has a long cooking-related bucket list. “If I can get a food truck, that will be about the top of the list,” he said.

Seeley said his back and feet were complaining Wednesday, but not enough to dull the thrill of the Mardi Gras day before.

“I’m totally excited and ready to do it again,” he said.