Terry Thompson-Anderson is one of America's foremost pundits of southern regional cooking. Her background in food is extensive, the result of not only working and studying with some of the renowned masters of contemporary cooking in America, but from years of seeking out the old techniques, recipes and traditions kept alive within families from the bayous of Louisiana to the arid Panhandle Plains of Texas.

Terry grew up in the Houston of the fifties, moving to Austin after pursuing a degree in English. It was in the Austin of the sixties that her culinary awakening began. Having been raised by a mother who did not regard the kitchen as her preferred room in which to spend a great deal of time, Terry was fascinated by a new mother-in-law who was a gracious southern lady and excellent cook from Macon, Georgia. Discovering new tastes and how to create them became a consuming passion.

By the time Terry's husband was transferred to Louisiana, she was hooked on creating her own pleasures at the table. The move coincided with the explosion of the popularity of Cajun-Creole food and provided both the incentive and the venue for a headfirst plunge into the world of professional food.

Ms. Thompson-Anderson met Lee Barnes, owner of the legendary Lee Barnes Cooking School in New Orleans. Terry began an apprenticeship at the school, working with the great teachers and chefs who came to teach there. Through the school, she became involved in the New Orleans food scene, where she networked with local culinary luminaries like Paul Prudhomme, who had recently left his post at Commander's Palace to open his own restaurant in the French Quarter, the now world famous K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen; and the quiet young chef who then donned the toque at Commander's Palace, Emeril Lagasse. Terry became enthralled with Creole-Italian foods made famous by New Orleans' Mosca family and became a kitchen groupie at Sal Impastata's "Sal and Judy's" on Lake Pontchartrain's North Shore. She begged her way into the kitchens of everyone's Cajun grandmother to study the roux, etouffees, jambalayas, turtle soups, and nutria stews.

Terry's professional studies began at L'Academie de Cuisine, founded by Francois Dionot, one of America's finest culinary educators, at its original location in Bethesda, Maryland. There she studied French Culinary Theory and Technique.

Terry Thompson-Anderson was a charter member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals where she met Nathalie Dupree, America's doyen of southern food, cookbook author and TV food personality. Ms. Dupree was the founder of the venerable Rich's Cooking School of Atlanta where Terry studied often, taking intensive workshops from such greats as Shirley Corriher, the country's favorite food science authority. While in Atlanta, Terry studied the Theory and Technique of Chinese cooking at The Chinese Cooking School, under the direction of Deen Terry, a highly respected authority on Chinese food and culture.

Terry studied baking and pastry with Rose Beranbaum, author The Cake Bible, and one of America's leading authorities on baking, in Rose's Greenwich Village kitchen.

Terry founded Cooking, Inc., a cooking school in Lafayette, Louisiana, that was featured in the December, 1983 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. Ms. Thompson-Anderson also wrote article for Bon Appetit, Cook's magazine, Cuisine and many other magazines and newspapers. She was Chef-Co-owner of Café Raintree in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Terry Thompson-Anderson is the author of Cajun-Creole Cooking (HP Books, 1986 and 1994), and Eating Southern Style (HP Books, 1988 and 1994). Cajun-Creole Cooking became a classic book, remaining in print over ten years. The Los Angeles Times referred to Cajun-Creole Cooking as "the best of the lot of Cajun-Creole cookbooks on the market." Both of Terry's previous books received great reviews from food editors and writers in all areas of the country.

In 1991, Terry came "home" to Texas and fell in love with the state all over again, savoring the rich diversity of its cuisine and marveling at the changes those years had brought. She does recipe development and staff training for restaurants around the country and recently completed her third book, Texas on the Plate (Shearer Publishing, 2002). Ms. Thompson-Anderson has taught over 20,000 students at cooking schools in the United States. She is currently the Executive Chef for the Halliburton Corporation at Maner Lake Lodge, their conference center and hunting/fishing lodge in West Columbia, Texas, where she resides in a country home with her husband, Roger.