‘Cheap Thrills Cuisine’ Creative duo offers inexpensive dishes in weekly comic strip

Cooking doesn’t have to be complex or mysterious.

That’s the message behind “Cheap Thrills Cuisine,” the recipe comic strip by two longtime friends, chef Bill Lombardo and artist Thach Bui, debuting today. The comic will run every Wednesday in the Style section.

“It’s quick and easy cooking with a French flair,” explained Lombardo by phone from the pair’s home base of Toronto.

They keep in mind that many of their readers are younger people on a budget, so they try to keep meal-preparation costs in the $5-$10 range.

“We want to make sure that people can eat a decent meal on a little money,” Bui (pronounced bouy) said by phone while visiting his son in British Columbia.

Each week, the long-nosed Chef Peppi will take readers through recipes such as Chilled Berry Soup or Rip-Roaring Ribs in 80 to 100 words.

“It’s a big fight all the time,” joked Bui, a Vietnam native. “Bill and I have to hunker down and weed it out as best we can, to make it simple and quick.”

Lombardo is executive chef for St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. He has served as executive chef for one of Marriott’s apartment residences in Toronto for four years, and previously held culinary positions at four Toronto-area hotels. He also spent four years as executive chef for the National Ballet School in Toronto.

Bui is founder of Toronto’s Artattack Studio, which has produced editorial illustrations and artwork for newspapers and advertising since 1977. He has illustrated many books and “Cheap Thrills Cuisine” is his fifth comic strip.

Their friendship, and the comic strip, go back to their college days. Culinary student Lombardo would come home and share the results of his homework with his neighbors, including Bui. (The title comes from Janis Joplin’s “Cheap Thrills” album, which Lombardo listened to frequently while cooking.)

Bui began writing down the recipes and started drawing them. He was already doing a strip for the Toronto Star, and an editor there helped him to fine-tune his new food comic.

The strip, distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group, now runs internationally in 75 to 80 papers. Lombardo and Bui have test kitchens both in Toronto and Washington, “to make sure we don’t poison anyone,” the artist said.

The pair does plenty of research, visiting kitchens at different restaurants and shopping at ethnic markets. They play special attention to trends, ingredients and holidays.

“We like to be eclectic, to mix in French, Italian, Asian,” Lombardo added.

Bui and his wife serve as willing samplers of potential dishes.

“I’m a good eater and will eat anything,” Bui said. “We provide feedback to him instantly. We give quite a bit of consideration before we put it in print.”

The two now live a few blocks from each other, and often communicate via computer. Lombardo will gather the ingredients, make the dish, then photograph it for Bui. He sends a copy of the recipe and a photo to the artist, who draws a first draft, then sends it to editors at the syndication company. They fax the edited copy back to Lombardo, who makes any changes or corrections before sending it to Bui, who draws the final strip.

The pair enjoys having the opportunity to demystify cooking through their comic strip.

“We interpret haute cuisine and make it simple for the consumers,” Lombardo said.