Lulu Roman

Lulu Roman

Donna & Lulu
Donna Douglas and Lulu Roman

LuLu Roman has enjoyed many successes in her life, but also more than her share of disappointments and hardships.  She is best known for her side splitting humor and jovial disposition, but a lesser known story lies behind those sparkling radiant eyes which have often been filled with tears, both of pain and of joy.

LuLu is best known as the most requested female cast member on the long running hit television Show “Hee Haw.”  The show ran from 1969-1993, and is now in reruns on the RFD-TV network.  LuLu is also known for her accomplished and celebrated songwriting and singing all over the world.

A native of Dallas, TX, LuLu was born in a home for unwed mothers, and placed in an orphan’s home shortly after birth. She was born with a thyroid dysfunction, and it would be in the orphan’s home that she first endured the pain of being unaccepted because of her weight.  Her weight made her the brunt of much name-calling and teasing, and also prevented her from being adopted into a loving home.  It was then she learned to use her sense of humor as a defense mechanism.

LuLu’s sense of humor later evolved into a highly successful career as an actress and comedienne with a lead role on “Hee Haw.”   However, success and wealth proved poisonous to the young actress.  LuLu’s search for acceptance and happiness eventually lead her to a drug addiction, which sent her down a spiral that nearly destroyed her life and career in 1971.

In 1973, a chance meeting with an old friend lead her to discover a new found faith in the Lord, and changed her life forever.  It was in this revelation that she discovered she had a hidden talent in her voice.  LuLu then began singing Gospel music, and eventually introduced it to “Hee Haw.”

LuLu’s new found career as a vocalist proved to be very successful.  She is the recipient of a Dove award, and has been nominated many times.  She is also a member of the Country Gospel Music and Christian Music halls of fame.  LuLu has also been honored with the JD Sumner Living Legend Award and named Favorite Crossover Artist by the Country Gospel Music Association.  The TV Land network also awarded LuLu with their prestigious Entertainer’s Award.

To date, LuLu has recorded 21 albums and is still singing in churches, seminars, fairs, performing arts centers, and anywhere she is welcomed to share her life story and music.

Her latest gospel project “Seven Times” has garnered an international hit song (“Do You Know How To Fly”), and is still being shared across the globe. It also features one of the last songs her precious friend Dottie Rambo wrote for her, “Move Upon Us.” 

LuLu has just completed a new project entitled “At Last.”  The album features 12 of her favorite standards and classics, such as “I Will Always Love You,” “Summertime,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Til I Can Make It On My Own, ” and the title song.  LuLu’s dear friends Dolly Parton, T. Graham Brown, Linda Davis, and Georgette Jones also joined her on the album.

In addition to “Hee Haw,” LuLu has also been a guest star on such television programs as “The Love Boat” and “Touched By An Angel.”  She is also an accomplished author, with her autobiography and her cookbook “Kitchen Komforts.”

Although she has been performing for over 40 years, she has no plans to rest or retire.  LuLu continues to travel sharing her testimony, her humor, and her music.  

Chef Roland Mesnier

Chef Roland MesnierBorn into a family of nine children in the tiny village of Bonnay, France, Roland Mesnier discovered his vocation by accident on a summer day at the age of twelve. Apprenticing to his older brother Jean, Roland began working at the local patisserie in exchange for room and board. From there he was hired as the pastry sous chef at the iconic Savoy Hotel in London, then was hired as the Executive Pastry Chef at what is now the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris. He then spent nine years at the legendary Princess Bermuda resort where he met his wife, Martha. Chef Mesnier came to the U.S. in April 1976 as Executive Pastry Chef at The Homestead, a venerable resort hotel in Hot Springs, Virginia.

Hired in 1979 by first lady Rosalyn Carter, Roland Mesnier became the first ever non-American to serve in the White House and went on to become the longest tenured chef ever – pastry or culinary – in the history of the White House.

He developed and taught the first professional Pastry Arts Program at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD – currently ranked in the Top 10 Culinary schools in the U.S. Chef Mesnier has won 18 Gold medals, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze for his pastry creations in competitions around the world. He is a member of the Academie Culinaire de France and the recipient of many awards and accolades which include: the French Legion of Honor in 2005 – the highest honor bestowed on a French citizen; that same year he was inducted into the Chocolate and Pastry Hall of Fame. He was awarded a Doctorate of Culinary Arts from the prestigious Johnson & Wales University in South Carolina. He is the author of three books, Dessert University, Basic to Beautiful Cakes and All the Presidents Pastries: A Memoir. His fourth book, A Sweet World of White House Desserts, was released in the fall of 2011 by the White House Historical Association.

While Chef Mesnier retired from the White House in 2006, he still travels the U.S. and around the world giving speeches, judging pastry competitions and participating in fund-raising events and book signings.

Visit his website www.chefrolandmesnier.com for more information and pictures of his work and to subscribe to his monthly newsletter.