There are two things that Patti LaBelle knows how to do: sing and cook.
Artists from Wyclef Jean in the 2000s to the Rolling Stones in the late ’60s have tasted the Philly native’s cuisine. The beloved singer carries her pots, pans, cooking utilities, spice, and hotplates with her wherever she goes and cooks it up in her dressing room, her hotel room, or any place, for that matter, especially when the diva is on the road.
Despite her being renowned for throwing down in the kitchen, not everyone likes her cooking.
Recently, in commemoration of Auntie Patti’s 80th birthday, New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams wrote about an encounter she had with the dramatic soprano.
“Girl, on the road I cook my butt off. Once I came out with chicken in my teeth. Listen, I cook better than I sing,” LaBelle purportedly said.
According to Adams, LaBelle’s food stank, smelling up the hotel they were in.
“The whole floor of this high-class hotel had the aroma of a White Tower,” Adams described, referencing a White Castle knockoff chain of restaurants that was known for cheap burgers.
She recounted an interview from back in the day for the Post, writing, “From the elevator her fourth floor smelled. Forget perfume. The entire floor reeked so strongly of liver and onions you could’ve sniffed it in Colorado.”
Adams, who did not state when the interview took place, said she noticed a few things about LaBelle immediately, including that “she lived good” and owned 3,000 pairs of six-inch heels.
However, the first thing that caught her attention, outside of the alleged smell of what she thought to be not-so-comfort food, was the “Lady Marmalade” singer’s greetings.
“Her hello to me? ‘Room service is dinky. Not like down-home food. A picky eater who hates throwing money around, I like to see my food. Room service sends up hamburger that tastes like s - - t and charges you $100. Patti LaBelle don’t eat s - - t! On the road I cook myself,’” she recalled.
She claims the “On My Own” vocalist said, “I travel with one whole suitcase that’s my kitchen. Pots, pans, spices, dishes, hotplate, electric fry pan, two burner stove, everything. Last night I made shrimp and rice. 3 a.m. for Wyclef Jean I cooked fries, burgers and onion rings.”
Locked in on the warbler’s ability to cook wherever she is without a second thought, she highlighted that LaBelle has made veal backstage and reportedly got a piece of chicken stuck in her teeth moments before stepping onto the stage.
“Girl, on the road I cook my butt off,” she quoted LaBelle as saying. “Listen, I cook better than I sing.”
This was not the first time Adams told the story.
Today on Cindy Adams, Cindy shares a story of a time she met Patti LaBelle in her hotel room. Catch the full scoop and more on Cindy Adams, only on 77 WABC!
— TalkRadio 77 WABC (@77WABCradio) July 25, 2021
Full Show: https://t.co/2r3jfzAkwA pic.twitter.com/q8b7ciiSXY
LaBelle and many other artists have spoken at length about cooking on the road in their early careers. For many Black artists, who were relegated to touring on the “Chitlin Circuit,” they had to face restaurants and hotels would not accommodate them and thus they had to make their way, which included cooking for themselves.
The Chitlin Circuit’s venues ranged from juke joints in small country towns, theaters in larger predominately Black cities like Atlanta’s Royal Peacock, Baltimore’s Royal Theater, Chicago’s Regal Theater, Detroit’s Paradise Theatre, Harlem’s Apollo Theater, and Washington, D.C.’s Howard, Lincoln Theaters or Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater or Showboat.
LaBelle called those early days as “hard times,” stating that back then she earned $9 a week by singing at churches and run-down establishments.
She said, “It wasn’t even the Chitlin’ Circuit. It was sardine houses.”
Eventually, times got better and LaBelle was able to move up in the game, but she did not stop cooking — and, surprisingly, some of rock ’n’ roll’s biggest stars fell in love with her food.
Now known for her food products in grocery stores like Walmart, LaBelle once cooked for a young Elton John in the 1960s. She also prepared a full spread of brisket, short ribs, fresh corn, and cabbage for Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones before a show in Philadelphia.
While they paid her back in compliments (Elton John would later give her a diamond ring for her kindness), it was one of her friends from America that showered her with the biggest gifts for feeding her.
In an interview with Medium, LaBelle shared that she toured with Richard Pryor, who appreciated her cooking so much that he later repaid her with gifts.
He bought me a sauna, diamond bracelets, and a car,” LaBelle said. “I said, ‘Richard, why are you buying me this?’ He said, ‘Because I don’t think anybody could [ever] pay you enough money.’”
She said she has cooked liver and onions for Arsenio Hall and oxtails for the members of TLC.
In the ’80s, the “On My Own” chart-topper was invited to cook for Prince at his Paisley Park home.
“He took me to his house to cook for him, and he was shooting pool as I was cooking, and when everything was done, I said, ‘Dinner’s ready!’ He said, ‘Oh, I just want a roll,'” the Grammy winner recalled.
In is unclear if Prince’s peculiar nature was at play or if he really just didn’t want to eat her food — just as it is if there is truth to Adams’ story.
Still, most people seem to love her cooking, and the list goes on about the many she has cooked for. On Juneteenth, she appeared on “The View” to share more of her cooking, and before host Whoopi Goldberg and the chef could share what was on the table, Joy Behar blurts out, “The greens are good.”
Adams might be the only one with anything negative to say about Patti’s cooking, considering Patti’s Pies and other items still selling in retail and grocery stores.
I'm so excited to introduce my Patti’s Good Life Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix! This mix came straight from the soul. And making breakfast with my grandchildren and family inspired me to bring this to you. Pick up some at your local @KrogerCo and @RalphsGrocery stores. I hope… pic.twitter.com/TKmoI8utIs
— Patti LaBelle (@MsPattiPatti) May 21, 2024
