Retired Judge Neil Thomas offers his services in the kitchen

Former Federal Judge Neil Thomas talks to Chatter Magazine about his culinary ventures.
Former Federal Judge Neil Thomas talks to Chatter Magazine about his culinary ventures.
photo Former Federal Judge Neil Thomas talks to Chatter Magazine about his culinary ventures.

Name: W. Neil Thomas III

Age: 73

Hometown: Chattanooga

Back before Neil Thomas became Hamilton County's circuit judge, the lawyer got caught up in the longest trial in the history of the 6th Federal Circuit to date at that time. It lasted 86 days. When he and his colleagues looked for a place to eat, "The Loft was it," Thomas says.

"Chattanooga used to be a country club town. We didn't have restaurants," he remembers.

These days, the tables have turned, and Thomas is "so glad to have restaurants in Chattanooga once more." Yet despite his busy schedule as a litigator, he doesn't rely on others to cook for him. He and his wife Anne are so in sync in the kitchen that they don't even have to speak, he says.

The pair even began offering their services in the kitchens of others, auctioning off gourmet meals served with the novelty of having a judge cook for you and your guests as a way to raise money for local nonprofits.

Thomas retired from the bench in October. In November, he opened The Law Firm of Thomas and Thomas with son Michael, the same month Thomas' book, "Imagination and the Art of the Jury Trial," was released. He's also working to help beautify local roadways through the Tennessee Interstate Conservancy Inc., an initiative he launched a year and a half ago to prove that there is "Nowhere to Hide from Tennessee Pride."

photo Former Federal Judge Neil Thomas talks to Chatter Magazine about his culinary ventures.
No matter how full his plate gets, Thomas has no intention of slowing down in the kitchen. Michael has even taken over the role of sous chef for the charity dinners.

» Over 25 years we've probably auctioned off over 25 of these [dinners], maybe 30. I think we've done something for every charity in Chattanooga.

» We've seen some of the most interesting kitchens in Chattanooga. In Ruth Holmberg's old house, they'd redone it to include a steamer. That's one we think about a lot.

» We pre-cook to where we get things almost ready, then we finish up in your kitchen, we serve it at your dinner table and then we leave your kitchen exactly how we found it.

» I stick to the same thing. I tried changing it up but it got too harried.

» Six people, four courses: soup (you can choose bisque or fresh-made French onion), fresh Caesar salad, beef Wellington - Julia Child's beef Wellington - asparagus or broccoli hollandaise, wild rice with gravy, and grapes flambé with chocolate sauce.

» The secret to flambé is a silver spoon. You heat it and it heats the brandy to the point of ignition. Then you pour it across the grapes and it ignites the brandy there. It's the wow factor.

» [Julia Child's] recipes are my Bible. When my boys come home for Christmas Eve, they still say, "Dad, we want your beef Wellington."

» The one thing that really gets the most attention [though] is the French onion soup.

» I think what enhances the dinner is the explanation of how it was prepared. It's more than three hours of prep for the gravy.

» There's one thing in Julia's gravy I do not like, and I do not put in it: tomato paste. With all due deference, I disagree, Julia.

» I cook by the book. If it says half a teaspoon, I put in half a teaspoon. Michael is a much better cook than I am. He goes by taste.

» I think the first time I had to cook was in law school. There were five of us; we each took a night. You had to learn to cook for somebody else, which is different than putting pieces of cold cuts between two pieces of bread.

» Cooking lets you do something with your hands. My job is all up here. [ points to head]

» In a jury trial, you've got to create something for the jury's attention; you've got to create an entertaining story. In cooking, you've got to create something that tastes good.

» Whether it's beautification, cooking, jury work, it's all in creating, and if you enjoy creating, you will find time to do it. It's time management is all it is.

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