Lisa Cousins, who still lives in the family home on Water Street, is a familiar face from Bob Lobster (Plum Island), the Carry Out Café at the Route 1 traffic circle and now the Thirsty Whale downtown. A retiring type, she likes to “stay in the kitchen” – so although people may not know her face, they certainly know her food.
Cooking is one of her favorite things, and for this she is known around town. So, in addition to cooking at a popular hangout for locals, she has started her own small catering company, Catering from the Hearth.
Her specialty is home-cooked comfort food such as Shepherd’s Pie, meatloaf, ribs, roast chicken and stuffed peppers. Last fall, her pulled pork chili won a “People’s Choice” award in a chili contest to benefit the food pantry Our Neighbor’s Table in Amesbury.
She has been at the Whale, as it is known by the locals, for about two years, which is about a year after it was bought by some sympathetic out-of-towners, Michael Connelly, Lorraine Connelly (Michael’s mother) and Steve Hewitt.
Editor’s Note:
We received and email from Michael Connelly, and would like to print the following corrections. We apologize for our errors. Michael corrects –
“Just to clarify, there is some erroneous information in the above statement. I have lived in town [Newburyport] for over 15 years, and my mother Lorraine for over 10 years. Steve Jewitt (not Hewitt) has lived here his whole life. I worked at the Whale for almost 8 years before buying it in 2006. I did not buy it out of sympathy. It was a well thought out business decision to buy a business in a place where I have lived almost half my life”
Cooking is not only a passion, it’s a family tradition. Her mother, Edna, was once a cook/server at the stately home of Helen Moseley, daughter of Frederick and Helen Moseley.
