Thibodaux mom serves Louisiana gumbo to set of HGTV son's 'Luxe for Less' show

Thibodaux's HGTV star Michel Smith Boyd brought his mother on set in the second episode of "Luxe for Less," where Denise Smith Washington introduced the cast, crew and TV audience to Louisiana gumbo.

In the episode "Alone on Two Islands," which first aired Dec. 8, Washington made gumbo and her 7-Up Cake to an unfamiliar audience.

"The cast was from all over - they had cast from New York, they had some people from Los Angeles - and quite a few of them were trying gumbo for the first time," Washington said. "They came back in line for seconds and I really enjoyed that; that's what we want to see."

Boyd was proud to have his mother in the episode and credited her influence on him with his becoming an interior designer.

Washington is used to lines for her food. She has been manager of West Thibodaux Middle School's cafeteria for five years, where the same base for the gumbo is used. The recipe is her mother's, which she would cook on Sundays just before attending Sunday School.

It starts with equal parts flour and oil in a skillet over a medium fire, constantly stirred to avoid burning. This is done until it reaches the rich brown color, the roux that separates gumbo from soup. Washington said there's also a dry roux, which is heating the flour in a skillet without oil, "and that's the healthier one, but it's not the better tasting one," she said.

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As a base, her gumbo always features the Cajun trinity: white onions, green bell peppers and celery. To this, she also adds green onions.

"That's the foundation of all cooking here in the South, really," she said.

Once the base is complete, the cook can then add whatever fixings she wants. Washington made two different gumbos for the cast in case people had seafood allergies. In one she had chicken and andouille sausage, while the other featured okra, crab, and shrimp. Tomatoes are not a part of her gumbo, and absolutely no hard boiled eggs are included, she said.

While not served in the gumbo, potato salad and crackers must-haves.

"It was really good," said Kiara Ross, 27, a production assistant. "It's just a hearty nice dish, but I didn't feel too heavy after."

Ross grew up in Alabama and moved to Atlanta to pursue a career in TV. She went back for seconds.

In "Luxe for Less," Boyd helps people design their home interiors with a luxury look on a budget.

"The idea of luxury being like an item or an object that's really expensive isn't always the case; it's really about how you define it," Boyd said. "It doesn't have to be an object but more of how you live the experience at home."

In the show, Boyd will take couples to different luxury homes in the Atlanta area, where he now lives, to find out what fits, then work with them to create a similar feel in their own homes.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Michel Smith Boyd's mom serves Louisiana gumbo on HGTV Luxe for Less