NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
When it comes to dinner, one Nashville man says just skip right to the dessert.
Randy Owen first came to town to make rock-and-roll music. It worked well for a while, as he toured the country with his band, sold some records and had a great time.
But now Owen is just singing in the kitchen, banging on the pots and pans and turning out his tasty homemade cheesecakes.
"This is my original recipe -the recipe I spent three-and-a-half years perfecting," he said.
Owen oozes cheesecake confidence - so much so that he'll share his recipe for success with you.
"It's how you mix it. It's what you put in it. It's how you cook it," Owen said.
OK, but what about the recipe?
"You've got to have the right recipe or you're not gonna get the right product," he said.
Beyond cream cheese and loads of butter, don't blame him if the rest of Owen's recipe remains a riddle. And if you think cheesecakes are all the same, he might change your mind.
"I tell them, 'well, you haven't tasted mine yet,'" Owen said. "Nine times out of 10, they come back for another slice five minutes later."
That scenario commonly happens at the Nashville Farmer's Market, where every week, 15 of his fresh cheesecakes disappear slice-by-slice, no matter the spice.
"Strawberry, chocolate truffle, raspberry, white chocolate," Owen said. "Our apple cinnamon preserves give it a little extra kick."
All of this post-music success is a result of his defiance when he was a one-time pastry chef in a 4-star restaurant. When they told him to make cheesecakes with their recipe, he said 'no.'
"And the recipe didn't satisfy the customers or me, and I've always been a cheesecake fan all my life. My grandmother raised me on it, and I decided to take it on myself to make it the perfect cheesecake," Owen said.
Now, with three years of fine tuning, some help in the kitchen from his father and a rock-and-roll attitude, it has led to his own cheesecake nirvana.
"I'm making my own art, and people are enjoying my art. What artist wouldn't enjoy what he's doing?" Owen said.
His cheesecakes have been so successful, he plans to open an actual store next week in Hendersonville. Randy's Famous Cheesecake is a family business, too. For more information, check out his website: http://www.randysfamouscheesecake.com.
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