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s p o n s o r e d b y :

New Orleans CityBusiness August 18, 2008 3

4 Introduction

Special photo section20 Culinary Connoisseurs

event photos

Best Fine DiningEstablishments6 Antoine’s Restaurant6 The Dakota Restaurant7 August

Best Casual Upscale DiningEstablishments8 Drago’s Seafood Restaurant8 Lüke — also honored

as a Best New Restaurant9 Sal & Judy’s9 Tommy’s Cuisine

Best Neighborhood DiningEstablishments10 Blue Duck Café10 Byblos Restaurant11 Deanie’s Seafood — Bucktown11 Mother’s Restaurant

Best New Restaurants12 5 Fifty 512 MiLa13 Nathan’s Restaurant13 New City Grille

Best Caterers14 Fleur de lis New Orleans Cuisine14 Food Art15 Martin Wine Cellar15 Patton’s Caterers

Best Owners16 John Besh — also honored

as a Best Executive Chef16 Tommy Cvitanovich 17 The Tastebuds: Greg Reggio,

Hans Limburg, Gary Darling

Best Executive Chefs18 Rene Bajeux 18 Kim Kringlie24 Brian Landry 24 Donald Link 26 Duke LoCicero 26 Spencer Minch 27 Darin Nesbit 27 Mike Regua 28 Susan Spicer

Best Sous Chefs28 William Briand 29 Larry Herbert 29 Mike Nelson

Best Sommeliers30 Michael Juan 30 Chris Ycaza

Best Pastry Chefs31 Beth Biundo 31 Tariq Hanna 32 Chris Newton

Best Maitre D’s33 Robin Bordelon 33 Vedran Komazec 34 Sergio Lopez

Legends35 Leah Chase35 Paul Prudhomme

Lifetime Achievement36 Shirley Anthony36 Marie Laborde 37 Dalton Milton 38 Shirley Rubin

Published by the NOPG LLC 111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 1440, Metairie, La. 70005 504-834-9292; Fax: 504-837-2258.

Publisher and president: D. Mark Singletary

Associate Publisher: Lisa Blossman

Managing Editor: Greg LaRoseAssociate editors: Christian Moises, Autumn Giusti,Renee Aragon Dolese, Deon RobertsArt director: Alex Borges, Lisa FinnanAccount Executives: Liz Baldini, Jeanne Farrell, CassieForeman, Ginger Graf, Coco Evans JuddProduction manager: Julie Bernard

Inside:

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EVERYONE LOVES TO EAT. No place is thatmore true than in New Orleans, with our world-famous cuisine, award-winning chefs and historicrestaurants.

CityBusiness realized last year that of all theindustries we honor each year, one of the region’slargest — the culinary industry — was not in ourlineup.

According to the Louisiana RestaurantAssociation:• Louisiana restaurants have an annual economic

impact of $9.9 billion.• Every $1 spent in Louisiana restaurants gener-

ates an additional $1.05 in sales for other indus-tries in the state.

• The restaurant industry is the state’s largest pri-vate retail employer, providing jobs to 132,300state residents and another 55,000 jobs that sup-ply the industry. These figures represent 10.4percent of private employment in the state.

• Each additional $1 million spent in restaurantsgenerates an additional 44.5 jobs in the state.

It is only fitting we raise a glass to the restau-rants and people who make that happen with theinaugural class of Culinary Connoisseurs, recog-nizing 50 top professionals and establishments inthe region’s culinary industry based on cuisine,business success and community involvement.

Honorees were divided into 13 categories: bestfine dining establishments, best casual upscale din-ing establishments, best neighborhood diningestablishments, best new restaurants, best caterers,best owners, best executive chefs, best sous chefs,best pastry chefs, best sommeliers, best maitre d’s,legends and lifetime achievement.

Many people know John Besh, Leah Chase andTommy Cvitanovich, but what about pastry chefChris Newton, the 22-year veteran at Brigtsen’srestaurant; sous chef William Briand, who special-izes in butchering at Cochon; or caterer MarieHasney, whose Fleur de Lis New Orleans Cuisinehas catered the Jazz Fest Hospitality Tent and VIParea for the past three years.

The people profiled in the following pages arethe ones who make our culinary industry sofamous, so successful and one of the biggest rea-sons people worldwide know and visit us.

Our world-renowned restaurants not only sur-vived Hurricane Katrina but continue to providethe quality service and food they have for morethan a century. In addition to countless hours ofcommunity service their staff members provide,they have also made a commitment to support ourlocal producers by frequenting area farmer’s mar-kets and seafood suppliers.

CityBusiness thanks each of them for their tastycontributions to the region and for their commit-ment to the New Orleans area.

Congratulations to the 50 CulinaryConnoisseurs of 2008.•

Introduction

By Christian Moises Associate Editor

50 professionalsmake menu for 1st CulinaryConnoisseurs

4 Culinary Connoisseurs


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BestFine Dining Establishments

Executive chef: Mike Regua

Opened: 1841

Price range: Between $50 and $75 per person.

Cuisine: Antoine’s is proud to have been one of thebusinesses and one of the families that helped defineNew Orleans cuisine as we experience it today. Mygreat-great-grandfather, Antoine Alciatore, was a clas-sically trained chef in France when he came toAmerica. But when he got here, the foods he wastrained to cook weren’t available. So he and manyother Europeans took their craft and applied it to verydifferent food groups, and the results were extraordi-nary. Oysters Rockefeller, Pompano en Papillote, EggsSardou were all original dishes here at Antoine’s.

Noted for: Antoine’s is the quintessential NewOrleans experience; we strive to be the epitome ofthat. The dining rooms were all themed and builtmany, many decades ago, some well over 100 yearsago. The menu is classic New Orleans cuisine —French Creole. The full service, black-tie service style,we hope, is the finest in the city.

Community involvement: Antoine’s has tried,especially post-Katrina, to be a good citizen in ourcommunity in every way we can. We’ve participatedin every festival and either donated food or servicesor gift certificates to more charities and schools thanI can even remember because to us, it’s just soimportant our community gets to survive.

Most notable guests:My great-grandfather and grandfather have collectedautographs from everyone from all the presidents tothe pope to Lucille Ball to Dennis Quaid. Everybodywho’s anybody has dined with us.

Major milestones:We’ve had lots of tough times. The Civil War in theearly days of the restaurant was not good forAntoine’s. Reconstruction wasn’t exactly a lot of fun.The two world wars, Prohibition, all left the restau-rant with scars. And so did Hurricane Katrina. Butone of the toughest things for our business has beenkeeping the business alive and healthy through gen-erations. It’s a family business and keeping the fami-ly healthy is a big challenge for us.•

— Leah Bartos

Interview with owner Rick Blount

Antoine’sRestaurant


Executive chef: Kim Kringlie

Opened: 1990

Price range: Guests comingin may want to enjoy an adultbeverage or maybe just have anentrée and move on to desert.In the latter example, it wouldbe somewhere in the $45 to$55 range. In the former exam-ple, it would naturally be a littlemore.

Cuisine: I have alwaysreferred to it as contemporary,continental Louisianian. It iskind of a blend of all the differ-ent cuisines of our state.

Noted for: Creating an atmos-phere where people can have agood time and enjoy the kind ofLouisiana food they like tocome back for again and again.

Community involvement:We don’t contribute to and focuson just one particular cause, butpeople come and knock on ourdoor and ask for our help. We doeverything from hosting charityevents to setting up a table at aparticular event to donating giftcertificates and having privatedinners in people’s homes. Aslong as it is something we canactually afford, we feel it is animportant part of what we do.

Notable guests:Justice Antonin Scalia,Archbishop Hannan — who isa frequent guest — KevinCostner, Diane Carroll, SamuelL. Jackson, former Gov. MikeFoster, Candy Picou, the formerwife of Edwin Edwards, andJohnnie Cochran.

Major milestones: SurvivingKatrina certainly, but also sur-viving a series of different eco-nomic downturns. We wentthrough the oil downturn andnow are going through the realestate downturn.•

— Garry Boulard

Interview with owner Kenny LaCour

The DakotaRestaurant

Photo by Frank Aymami

Antoine’s serverJohnny Messinaserves dessert toWendy Chatelainand Jeff Orkes.


Photo by Shannon Diecidue



Executive chef: John Besh

Opened: September 2001

Price range: Between $22 and $38.

Cuisine: Contemporary French cuisine withlocal New Orleans ingredients.

Noted for: Everything on the menu is prettymuch grown and raised by local farmers.Supporting local farmers through our menu is abig focus of our executive chef, John Besh. Ourcustomers know they are getting local ingredients.

Community involvement:We provide food, service and event consultingfor a lot of local charities and organizations suchas St. Luke, St. Joseph’s Altar, the LA/SPCA, theContemporary Arts Center, the French-AmericanChamber of Commerce, several Catholic chari-ties, several New Orleans schools, CaféReconcile, the Preservation Resource Center ofNew Orleans, the New Orleans Wine and FoodExperience, the New Orleans Police Department,

the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office, the NationalWorld War II Museum, Justice for All Ball, theKidney Gala, the Southern Food and BeverageMuseum and the James Beard Foundation.

Most notable guests: Every person whowalks through the door. We’ve also had U2,Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Pitt, Jimmy Buffett,Michael Jordan, Dr. J (Julius Erving); SanAntonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich eats hereevery night when they are on a road trip;President Bush and the First Lady; and ReneeZellweger.

Major milestones: Being ranked No. 1 inNew Orleans for food and service by Zagat; BestChef, Southeast, given to Executive Chef JohnBesh by the James Beard Foundation, beingnamed among the Top 50 restaurants in theUnited States by Gourmet and being namedamong the Top 40 restaurants in the UnitedStates by Gayot — The 2006 Restaurant Issue.•

— Tommy Santora

Interview with Besh RestaurantGroup Partner Octavio Mantilla

AugustRestaurant


Server captainMichael LaSallegreets DannelleMustin at August.

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Owner/Manager:Tommy Cvitanovich and Klara B.Cvitanovich, son and mother

Opened: 1969

Price range: Between $30 and$35 per person.

Cuisine: Drago’s is a NewOrleans-style seafood restaurant.We offer very high quality foodserved efficiently and fast for areally good price. That’s the secretto our success.

Noted for: We invented the char-broiled oyster, which is now foundon menus throughout NewOrleans. We also sell more lob-sters than any another restaurantin the area. We are known for tak-

ing a great dish like Maine lobsterand adding Louisiana flair to itwith shrimp, oysters and good,down home Louisiana cooking.

Community involvement:Since Hurricane Katrina, therestaurant has given away morethan $150,000 to several NewOrleans charities and organizationssuch as Children’s Hospital,Sunshine Kids, the New OrleansPolice Department, St. Clement ofRome Church and numerous oth-ers. Drago’s is also represented inthe New Orleans RestaurantAssociation, the LouisianaRestaurant Association and theLouisiana Seafood PromotionBoard.

Most notable guests:Actors, actresses, politicians andathletes all patronize Drago’s.

Major milestones:We gave away more than 70,000meals after Hurricane Katrina. As aresult of our efforts, we receivedthe Restaurant Neighbor Awardfrom the National RestaurantAssociation in 2006. We were thefirst Louisiana restaurant to receivesuch recognition. Last year’s open-ing of a second location in down-town New Orleans was anothernotable accomplishment. To date,that restaurant is enjoying the samesuccess as our founding Metairielocation. Local patrons account forthe majority of its clientele.•

— Nayita Wilson

Interview with owner Tommy Cvitanovich

Drago’s seafoodRestaurant

Executive chef: Jared Tees

Opened: May 1, 2007


Cuisine: Traditional brasseriefare with French, German andNew Orleans influences.

Noted for: The brasserie fea-tures include rattan bistro chairs,blackboard specials and newspa-per racks. We also have a sweep-ing seafood display and elaboratepulley-and-belt driven ceiling fans,and an early air-conditioning sys-tem first admired by visitors in the1880s that has been re-created.Customers say all the time wehave value, selection and qualityof menu and great food for a low

price. It’s the hospitable casualdining experience people enjoyabout this place.

Community involvement:We provide food, service andevent consulting for a lot of localcharities and organizations suchas St. Luke, St. Joseph’s Altar, theLA/SPCA, the Contemporary ArtsCenter, the French-AmericanChamber of Commerce, severalCatholic charities, several NewOrleans schools, Café Reconcile,the Preservation Resource Centerof New Orleans, the New OrleansWine and Food Experience, theNew Orleans Police Department,the St. Tammany PoliceDepartment, the National WorldWar II Museum, the Justice for AllBall, the Kidney Gala, theSouthern Food and Beverage

Museum and the James BeardFoundation.

Most notable guests:The hundreds of people who comein every day. We have had a ton ofcelebrities such as Sela Ward, LukeWilson, Lisa Marie Presley, ChrisPaul, Tyson Chandler eats here afterevery (Hornets) game, the CountingCrows, Doc Rivers ate here duringthe NBA All-Star Game and BrittanyMurphy orders food out from usevery time she’s in town.

Major milestones:Being named Best NewRestaurant by New OrleansMagazine, The Times-Picayuneand Gambit Weekly in our firstyear of business.•

— Tommy Santora

Interview with generalmanager Blake LeMaire

LüKe


Best CasualUpscaleDining Establishments


Best New Restaurants



Drago’s server GinaBaccabio displays therestaurant’s signaturecharbroiled oysters.

Lüke ExecutiveChef Jared Jeesprepares asandwich duringthe lunch rush.

Opened: I opened Sal and Judy’sin 1974 in Lacombe with my wife,Judy. The original restaurant wasabout 1,800 square feet. Lacombereminded me of my hometown inSicily, and I love to fish.

Price range: Entrees range from$10 to $25.

Cuisine: Creole-Italian cuisine.Traditional, family-style recipes ofSicily accented with Creole spicesand local Louisiana ingredients.

Noted for: Sal and Judy’s isnoted for its Creole Italian cuisine.The menu has not changed muchsince we opened. I have takenmany of my family’s recipes fromSicily and combined them with

the great flavors of Louisiana. …We offer large portions for rea-sonable prices. We have one cus-tomer who has been coming inevery Wednesday for dinner forthe past 32 years, always orderingeither the veal or the lasagna.

Community involvement:Each year we invite less fortunatechildren to the restaurant aroundChristmas and make them a nicedinner, and Santa comes andbrings gifts to the kids. I donate giftcertificates and food to localfundraisers. Locally we try and helpout the recreation and fire depart-ment by donating time and food.

Most notable guests:All of my guests who eat at the

restaurant are notable. But if youare referring to celebrities wehave had, a few come through toeat here. John Goodman is a reg-ular here when he is in town. Alsomany politicians ... EdwinEdwards, Dave Treen, FrankSinatra’s daughter, Nancy.Professional football and baseballplayers like to come and eat here.

Major milestones:In the year 2000, we began con-struction on the new restaurantright next door to the original Saland Judy’s. I really wanted toupdate the kitchen and expand thedining room so guests could havemore room to dine here.•

— Thomas Leggett

Interview with owner and executive chef Sal Impastato

Sal and Judy’s

Executive chef: Milton Prudence.Milton was the chef at Galatoire’sRestaurant for 35 years. I openedTommy’s after I separated from mywife, Irene, (Tommy and Irene ownedIrene’s Cuisine) and hired Milton.

Opened: 2002


Cuisine: In my previous restaurant— Irene’s Cuisine — I had Italian cui-sine. Now I’m near the convention cen-ter, where people tend to want NewOrleans French cuisine.

Noted for: I worked for the FairmontHotel restaurant (Sazerac) for 20years, since 1968. I then openedIrene’s for 13 years, and now I haveTommy’s. I feel like I’m a part of thiscity. It’s a wonderful experience to bein the restaurant business herebecause people appreciate the food.I’m originally from Guatemala City.

Community involvement:I am not affiliated with any type oforganization, but I volunteer donationsin the form of money or gift certifi-cates to almost anyone who calls.

Most notable guests:We have had movie stars, but I amnot a Hollywood person. My waiterstell me they appear.

Inspiration to work in the culinary industry:Actually, I did not plan it. I worked atthe Fairmont for a summer job. Athree-month job turned into a 20-yearjob. I was fortunate. The people Iserved there were very appreciative ofthe food and service. I finished college,but instead of going into my field, Istayed in this business. I guess I takeafter my mother. She was a great hostand cook. Years went by, I enjoyedwhat I did, and I continued to do it.•

— Amy Ferrara Smith

Interview with owner Tommy Andrade

Tommy’sCuisine





Tommy’s Cuisine ownerTommy Andrade greetscustomers Mike andSherri Duvall.


Opened: March 2007


Cuisine: Po-boys, soups, salads

Noted for: Lake Charles is a bigchain city — Chili’s and Outback… places like that. I knew what wereally needed was a good FrenchQuarter po-boy shop. Lake Charlesdidn’t have any place that reallycelebrated true Louisiana food.Plus, we’re the only blues club inLake Charles. Blue Duck Café isthe closest thing to New Orleansoutside New Orleans.

Community involvement:We take a collection on nights weplay music and pass that moneyon to the women and children atCalcasieu Parish Women’s Shelter.

Occasionally, we cook a big mealand deliver it to the shelter. We’realso involved in the downtowndevelopment commission in LakeCharles. We’re trying to rebuildthis area.

Most notable guests:The mayor and the police chief,and we have about half thelawyers in Lake Charles in hereevery afternoon. But, then again,all of my customers are important.

Major milestones:Making it through our first year. Weopened on an absolute minimumbudget with no advertising whatso-ever, and everyone said I was outof my mind. But by the end of thethird week, we broke even.•

— Katie Urbaszewski

Interview with executive chef Briant Smith

Blue DuckCafé

Executive chef: Tarek Tuy

Opened: The Metairie Road location opened in1993. There are also restaurants on MagazineStreet, in Lakeside Shopping Center, on the TulaneUniversity campus and a Byblos Market location inMetairie.

Price range: Entrees range between $12 and $25.

Cuisine: It started as Lebanese but has expandedto Mediterranean cuisine.

Noted for: Lamb kabobs and belly dancing onThursday nights.

Community involvement:Byblos provides food and gift cards for high

schools and various charity events, including Artfor Art’s Sake, Love in the Garden and the JusticeFor All Ball.

Most notable guests:Various actors, including Jude Law, John Cusackand William Hurt. Political people include NewOrleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin and CityCouncilwoman Stacy Head.

Major milestones:Opening the second restaurant on Magazine Street,opening Zaya’s in Atlanta and being one of the firstrestaurants to reopen on Magazine Street threeweeks after Hurricane Katrina — it had minimaldamage and about 90 percent of the staff returned.•

— Lisa Bacques

Interview with general manager James Mathes

Byblos server Tracey Pataniadrops off an appetizer forcustomers Gretchen Troiano,left, and Indie McKay.

ByblosRestaurant

BestNeighborhood

Dining Establishments

BestNeighborhood


10 Culinary Connoisseurs Photo by Frank Aymami

Photo by Hector San Miguel

Executive chefs: Barbara Chifici andKeith Chifici

Opened: Deanie’s Seafood was estab-lished in 1961 and was purchased fromthe original owners by Frank and BarbaraChifici on April 26, 1982. We opened ourFrench Quarter location in 2002.

Price range: Our entrees averageabout $14.

Cuisine: We serve basic New Orleansseafood, putting our own spin on lotsof New Orleans favorites. We’re a“scratch house,” meaning we makeeverything in-house with the best ingre-dients we can buy. Nothing comes inpre-battered or pre-mixed.

Noted for: We built our name andreputation on fried and boiled seafood

at a reasonable value, but people reallylove our barbecue shrimp.

Community involvement:We donate time, food and gift certifi-cates to a slew of organizations,including schools and various charita-ble events, and participate in cookingdemonstrations for charitable causes.

Most notable guests:Mickey Rooney, Harry Connick Jr.,Lance Armstrong, Gene Hackman, TomBrady, Jessica Simpson and manymore.

Major milestones: Opening our sec-ond location at 841 Iberville St. in theFrench Quarter was a major milestonein our business.•

— Thomas Leggett

Interview with executive chef Keith Chifici

Deanie’sSeafood

General manager:Joe Balderas

Opened: 1938


Cuisine: New Orleans home cooking

Noted for: Po-boy sandwiches have beenserved at Mother’s since 1938 by the restau-rant’s original owners, Simon and MaryLandry. Their sons, Jack and Eddie, servedin the Pacific during World War II, and therestaurant became a Marine hangout whenthey took over Mother’s in the ’60s. It wasconsidered New Orleans’ version of a TunTavern, the name of the place in Philadelphiawhere the Marine Corps originated in 1775.After the (National World War II) Museumopened, we had veterans coming in withtheir kids and grandkids. We started puttingother branches of the service on the wall.We heard a lot of stories. We were fortunateto have them.

Community involvement:We help prepare for Christmas in July forBridge House and participate in fundraisersfor Crimestoppers, Night Out Against Crime,St. Michael’s Special School and Justicefor All.

Most notable guests:President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush,Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Gov. Bobby Jindal,Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, Dr. John, JimmyBuffet, B.B. King, Alec Gifford, CanadianPrime Minister Stephen Harper and groupsof young people here in town volunteeringto rebuild houses.

Major milestones:After Hurricane Katrina, the restaurantreopened Oct. 15, 2005. Coast Guard ViceAdm. Thad Allen, who replaced FederalEmergency Management Agency DirectorMichael Brown, was the first customer tobe served.

— Lisa Bacques

Interview with co-owner and executive chef Jerry Amato

mother’srestaurant


BestNeighborhood


BestNeighborhood


Photo by Tracie Morris Schaefer

Ashleigh Derrick reaches for an onion ring at Deanie’sSeafood in Bucktown.


Mother’s server StacieRobinson delivers biscuitsto Jennifer Waits anddaughter Ella.

Executive chef: Mark Quitney

Opened: 2007

Price range: Between $12 and $25

Cuisine: It’s a fresh approach tofood with a local flair. We have awood-burning oven for meats andpoultry and do things like aspara-gus and butternut squash soup.We serve breakfast, lunch and din-ner, and we really work with localproduce.

Noted for: It’s in a hotel, so it’s ina great lobby area. We call it “FrenchQuarter’s Grand Central, whereexcellence is experienced.” We’rethe biggest hotel in the FrenchQuarter, so a lot of people come andmeet in our lobby for a drink.

Community involvement:We built two Kaboom playgroundswith the hotel last year for low-income areas. Our hotel (the NewOrleans Marriott) donated 10,000hours of our labor to Habitat forHumanity. We also do theChildren’s Miracle Network anddonated close to $40,000 last year.We also do a golf tournament forthem in November.

Most notable guests:We’ve had some speakers at ourhotel. That could be Colin Powell,James Carville and others whomight sometimes end up in ourrestaurant.

Major milestones:None, it’s too new.•

— Craig Guillot

Interview with general managerGil Zanchi

5 fifty 5

Executive chefs: Slade andAllison Rushing

Opened: 2007

Price range: The appetizersrange between $7 and $15, andentrees range between $19 and$36.

Cuisine: We serve “nouvelle NewOrleans,” which means new takeson New Orleans food. We’ve light-ened up things while using freshproducts.

Noted for: The Oyster Rockefeller“Deconstructed” and the NewOrleans Style Barbeque Lobster aretwo of our signatures. We changeour menu frequently, but the Crab

Tian has caught on very well. It’sNew Orleans, so you have to offera lot of seafood because peoplereally want that. We use a lot oflocal seafood, which makes up asmuch as 60 percent to 70 percentof our business.

Most notable guests:Stevie Wonder came in to dinewith us.

Major milestones:Tom Fitzmorris’ five-star review inNew Orleans CityBusiness wasreally nice for us. We’re excited bysome of the nice mentions in localpublications. Overall, we just likemaking our customers happy.•

— Thomas Leggett

MiLa




Interview with co-executivechef Slade Rushing


5 Fifty 5 Chef MarkQuitney serves a chefsalad to Dennis Thureson,left, and David Epstein.


MiLa co-executive chefSlade Rushing chats withDe’Idra Lundi during lunch.

Executive chef: David Gooch

Opened: February 2008

Price range: Between $16 and$29

Cuisine: Seafood, steaks, chickenand pasta.

Noted for: We’re still gettingestablished, but we have our regu-lar customers. We’re a family-ori-ented, comfortable place with afriendly atmosphere. Our food ismade fresh daily, and it is consis-tently good. The chef (DavidGooch) is a big part of that. Wehave good service and a dedicated

staff. They are professional, andthat makes our guests feel comfort-able. We have a good product.

Community involvement:We are doing a banquet for Habitatfor Humanity and also are involvedin fundraisers for St. TammanyParish schools and functions atarea hospitals.

Most notable guests:Slidell Mayor Ben Morris and vari-ous local politicians.

Major milestones: Opening inFebruary.•

— Lisa Bacques

Interview with owner Ross Eirich

Nathan’sRestaurant

Executive chef:William Mauk

Opened: September 2006

Price range: Between $10 and $30

Cuisine:I describe it as contemporaryCreole/American. It’s everythingfrom burgers to filets.

Noted for: The Gulf fish pecanis highly touted among thestaff. We also serve a vegetableand a starch with every entrée,so it is not a la carte.

Community involvement:I’m involved in an assortment

of charitable events based onthe needs of regulars who fre-quent the restaurant. I oftenmake donations of gift certifi-cates to silent auctions.

Major milestones:The introduction of valet park-ing has relieved some of myparking concerns. I’d also men-tion the enlarging and openingof our new banquet room.

Most notable guests:Just Old Metairie’s finest. We’rea neighborhood restaurant inone of the most exclusive neigh-borhoods in the country. You geta good assortment of people.•

— Robin Shannon

Interview with owner Derrick Todd

New CityGrille




Nathan’s Restaurant server CheWeigand delivers drinks to cus-tomers, from left, Lucille Bienvenu,Jane Kendrick and Audrey Olsen.



Executive chef: Kate Chadwick

Opened: 2006

Price range: Varies, depending on the event

Cuisine: World table with a Louisiana twist. …My chef has traveled the world and can cook alldifferent kinds of food with the flavor ofLouisiana added.

Noted for: Seafood-stuffed pasta shells,Hoisin-glazed pork tenderloin (grilled and driz-zled with an Asian five-spice barbecue sauce),and my personal favorite, corn macque choux— it’s fresh corn that you cut off the cob,there’s cream, and it’s so delicious. You can putshrimp in it or have it plain.

Community involvement: We support BridgeHouse. … If we have a lot of food left, we can getthem to come pick it up. If it’s in pans, they’ll evenclean the pans and bring them back to us. We doall kinds of things all the time — anything we cando to bring back the city. That was why I startedthe business in the first place.

Major milestones: Finding the right people towork. A lot of people don’t want to work as hardas it takes to do catering. We were fortunate andblessed enough to get the contract with Shell todo Jazz Fest for the catering of the hospitality tentand the VIP area. Fleur de Lis is now in its thirdyear of working with Jazz Fest. It was very diffi-cult (in 2006) to find all the supplies we neededto do the event, but we did it.•

— Fritz Esker

Interview with owner Marie Hasney

Fleur de Lis New OrleansCuisine

Opened: 1990

Price range: It widely varies from the mostbasic inexpensive takeout tray to a larger eventthat costs more than $250 a head.

Cuisine: We would normally say multi-regional because we don’t do one specific typeof cuisine. We do Cajun Creole, Asian food,Indian food — we are all over the map.

Noted for: We offer a seamless experience,which means the person a client starts with isthe same person they end with. One person iswith a client through the duration of their event.I’d also say we are known for our presentation,quality and professionalism.

Community involvement:I’m involved in the hospitality industry in a lotof ways. For example, I often conduct lecturesfor students going into the hospitality industry.I teach the virtues of getting into the industry.

Major milestones:I’d say the grand opening of Harrah’s Casino in1994 and serving food to 15,000 people was amajor milestone for us. We had to deal with150,000 hors d’oeuvres that were all madefrom scratch. We have since stayed involvedwith Harrah’s, and now we do all of their cater-ing. We also did the catering for the DemocraticNational Committee when it was last here.•

— Robin Shannon

Food ArtInterview with executive chef Nanci Easterling


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Executive chefs: David Bockstruck andMark Majorie

Opened: Our original store opened in1946, which was the Baronne Street loca-tion. We plan on reopening BaronneStreet in June 2010. The Metairie storeopened in 1989, and we started the deliand catering in 1990. The Mandevillestore opened in 2005 and the Magazineand Baton Rouge stores opened in 2006.

Price range: The lunch menu rangesfrom $4.99 to $13.50. We also have our fullcatering menu available online and we offerfull catering services from delivery, bar-tenders, servers and rentals. We can caterany event from eight to 800 guests.

Cuisine: Our cuisine is quite eclectic; weattempt to offer a wide variety throughouta month. We offer entrees from contem-porary regional American fare, Europeanclassics and some Asian influences. Given

our structure, the menu depends greatlyon the chefs’ inspiration and creativity.

Noted for: We have one of the largestselections of wines and spirits in the GulfSouth. Also, our New York-style deli sand-wiches and great daily specials.

Community involvement:Martin Wine Cellar donates to manyorganizations, mainly schools and localbusinesses, in southeastern Louisiana.

Major milestones:After suffering major losses because ofHurricane Katrina, both to our facilitiesand our stock, we quickly reopened theMetairie location in early October 2005with a great deal of teamwork from ourloyal and dedicated staff and proceededwith expansion plans for the North Shoreand Baton Rouge.•

— Craig Guillot

Interview with president Cedric Martin

Martin WineCellar

Opened: 1954

Price range: Between $20 and $50 perperson.

Cuisine: French Creole or New Orleans style

Noted for: It’s a family business, startedby my mother and father in 1954. My sisterPat and my brother Tim do most of thebooking, I’m in the kitchen, Tommy (broth-er) is the facilitator and Gale (sister) ismore or less at the banking end. I’ve beendoing this 32 years. There are challenges,but we all pull together and make it happen.... We have five family members who cantake care of every aspect of everything, andI think we do a very good job. The peoplewho hire us don’t have to worry about any-thing. They know we have it under controland can take care of all the details.

Community involvement: We do thingsfor the Alzheimer’s Association. My motherpassed away from that during HurricaneKatrina and suffered with it throughout theyears. We also do work for the Fore!KidsFoundation, Ducks Unlimited, Jazz on theBayou, STARC (Services, Training,Advocacy, Resources, Connection) andSecond Harvest. We donate food to manycommunity events and organizations.

Major milestones: Getting the PGAtournament spot in New Orleans … nowit’s the Zurich Classic. We’ve been doingthat since the conception of the skybox,and that was 20 years ago. I guess JazzFest would be another one. There havebeen many, many, many in the 54 yearswe’ve been in business.•

— Katie Urbaszewski

Interview with owner and executive chef Terry Patton

Patton’sCaterers


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Martin Wine Cellar cateringmanager Gena Gilberti, left,and chef Mark Majoriesample potato salad at theMetairie store.



Professional training andeducation: Culinary Institute ofAmerica from 1989-92.

Previous experience: Before Iventured out on my own, I was at theWindsor Court Hotel. I was also at theRomantik Hotel Spielweg and theBlack Forest in Germany and was atthe Château de Montcaud in Provence,France, and at Artesia in Abita Springs.

Years at establishment:In 2004, Octavio (Mantilla) and Irenamed our partnership the BeshRestaurant Group. We previouslyhad a consulting group called Olivet,and we still have that but we don’tdo much of the consulting anymore.August was our first restaurant weopened in 2001. We opened BeshSteakhouse in 2003, we took overLa Provence in January 2007 andLüke was our last one in May 2007.

Community involvement:After Katrina, it was really important

to me to work with organizations andnonprofits that work to help bringback some of the cornerstones ofNew Orleans, like tangible thingssuch as rebuilding homes throughHabitat (for Humanity), or I helpedrebuild Willie Mae’s Scotch House. Ido Chef’s Charity for Children at St.Michael’s Special School. We alsohelp places such as Café Reconcile,Mary Queen of Vietnam CommunityDevelopment Corp., a number ofNorth Shore fundraisers and organi-zations, and the Green Charter SchoolUptown. Students go to La Provenceto see a different life than that of theinner city. We work with food banksin St. Luke’s Parish in Slidell.

Major milestones: Making a mar-riage last 16 years while being apoor, helpless cook is right upthere. Also the challenge of raisingfour boys — Brendan, 12, Jack, 7,Luke, 5, and Andrew, 3 — with mywife, Jenifer, has also been a mile-stone. Iron Chef was really an

opportunity to showcase who weare and what we are.

Favorite dish: In the spring it’sgoing to be whatever you can possi-bly do to a crawfish. Then that leadsus into shrimp and crab season, andthen at this time of year … it’s thegarden season. In the fall, it’s anoyster dish. Once we start duckhunting, it becomes gumbo. In thewinter, it’s an old family heirloomrecipe, like oyster or crawfish corn-bread dressing.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry: I wanted to be achef because I like making peoplehappy and I love cooking for people.At a young age, I looked up to all thelocal chefs who were rock stars evenbefore The Food Network and I knewI wanted to be a chef. My father,Ted, also encouraged me to pursuemy dream.•

— Tommy Santora

Lüke, August, Besh Steak, La Provence

John Besh

Years at establishment:I’ve been a part of this restaurantfor more than 30 years. My par-ents opened Drago’s in 1969, andI started out as a little boy peel-ing shrimp in the kitchen. Myresponsibilities began to increasein the late 1980s, and in the mid-’90s I launched an advertisingcampaign that saved the compa-ny as we contemplated closing.Today, we have two of the topgrossing businesses in thegreater New Orleans area.

Community involvement:I recently ended a 12-year stintwith the Louisiana SeafoodPromotion Board. I’m past pres-ident of the New Orleans

Restaurant Association and amin a position to become a chair-man of the Louisiana RestaurantAssociation. I’m also a trusteefor the Louisiana RestaurantAssociation’s $55 million SelfInsured Fund for Worker’sCompensation. My involvementin these organizations is greatfor networking and learning. Ilearn something new at everyevent, and the knowledge gainedcan be applied now or in thefuture.

Major milestones: My wifeLeanne and I have four kids:Maddie, Josh, Carson and Callie.I love being a dad, and I lovebeing married.

Favorite dish: I have a fewfavorites. I like the ShuckeeDuckee, the CrabmeatMediterranean Salad and, ofcourse, the oysters. Then, wehave the Fleur de lis Shrimp,which is also good. I like all ofthem. That’s why they’re on themenu.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I reallyenjoy teaching and working withthe students. I, along with a col-league, mentor students on GraceKing’s culinary cooking team. It’sinspiring to see the students learnand apply what they’ve learned.•

— Nayita Wilson

TommyCvitanovichDrago’s Seafood Restaurant


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Years at establishment:Darling: Hans and I have been col-laborating since 1973. Greg came onthe scene in 1980, and the three ofus came together to form TasteBuds and started developing ourconcepts after that.

Community involvement:Limburg: We like to do a lot ofsmall fundraisers in and aroundwhere the restaurants are, (and)encourage the involvement of themanagement team of the restau-rants. These food festivals are goodfor everyone; it’s a two-way street.We get to showcase our food andwe get to have some fun with it.You get to meet people, and theytell you what the like about yourplace. It’s a good way to meet yourguests on another level.

Major milestones:Limburg: I think when we openedour restaurant at Clearview Mall,we added a brewery, and I thoughtthat was a big milestone for us.

The sales just almost tripled fromwhat we were used to from ourfirst location.Darling: A lot of the success of therestaurant is the fact that Hans,Greg and I — for the past 30some-odd years — have remainedsuccessful in business and asfriends, and that friendship is animportant part of the company. It’slike a successful marriage.

Favorite dish:Darling: I love the crispy duck.Limburg: My favorite dish atSemolina always was the pad Thai,and my favorite dish at Zea's isprobably the Thai ribs.Reggio: Probably the Thai ribs withthe roasted corn grits. That’s a greatdish. I never get tired of it.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry:Limburg: It was just something Ialways enjoyed doing. I always didit part time in junior high and highschool. Eventually I always got jobs

Hans Limburg, Greg Reggio and Gary DarlingZea's Rotisserie and Grill, and Semolina

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cooking, and at some point in time,I just thought I would do this pro-fessionally. I had some lucky breaksand was taken under the wing bysome chefs who were talented andtook the time to teach me.Darling: I just love it. I just love the

environment, I just love the creativeend of it, and I love the fact I can playwith my food and not have my moth-er yell at me, and get paid to do it.Reggio: Food is just such an essen-tial part of family in New Orleans. Mymother was a phenomenal cook; she

was very adventurous. I would watchJulia Child on PBS with her, (and) Ican remember standing up on a chairstirring the red gravy. Food was sucha big part of family life.•

— Jason Saul

crystalhotsauce.com

Professional training andeducation: I apprenticed inAlsace-Lorraine, France, for threeyears starting in 1971 when I was13 years old.

Years at establishment:Bajeux spent one year at LaProvence, and in July 2008 saidhe would be leaving the restaurant.

I’m going to take some timeoff, and think about what I wantto do next and find my direction.… So, I’m going to take about amonth, month and a half off, andthen see what’s happening. I havenothing lined up.

Previous experience: Afterthe apprenticeship, I went to workin the best restaurants in France,Luxembourg, Canada, Maui,

Beverly Hills, Chicago and, obvi-ously, here.

Noted for: I change my menualmost every day, so anything withfish or wild game. That’s what peo-ple come here for is fish they can-not find anywhere else, samplefresh preparation with local prod-uct, local vegetable, local fish. Also,we get a lot of wild product, likewild salmon, wild bass … we raiseour own pigs in the back, we haveour own chickens, so anything wecan get from the farm is great.

Favorite ingredient: Pork. Ilove pork. And tomatoes like crazy,we have tomatoes coming upeverywhere. We have waterchanterelle, we have incredible figscoming out left and right. I love it.

Favorite dish: My favorite dishwould be fresh sardines.

Community involvement:March of Dimes, Cancer Society,Kidney Foundation, AIDSFoundation … because if we don’thelp those people, nobody’s goingto help them. Chefs give a lot offree time on our days off. Thecommunity comes in to eat andgives us a lot, so we have to givesomething back.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I guessbecause my mother loved to cookat home. We didn’t have anymoney, but she loved to cook, soI think that was it.•

— Laura Mattingly

La Provence

Rene bajeux

Professional training andeducation:I started working at 15 in restau-rants in North Dakota, which iswhere I am from. We had a familyfriend in the business. I used togo into his kitchen when therestaurant was closed and watchhim cut meat for hours. He had awooden butcher’s block, and thesides of cattle were hanging onmeat hooks in his cooler. Hewould break down half a cow andI would stand on a milk crate andgrind the meat for him.

Years at establishment:My business partner, KennyLaCour, is from Covington andfriends came to the two of us andasked if we would be interested ingetting the restaurant going thatwe still have today. We brokeevery rule in the book when it

came to a business plan — oper-ating capital, who needs that? Butwe just felt that we made for agood business combination, andhere it is 19 years later. It hasbeen an educational processthroughout. We also haveRestaurant Cuvee together andare opening up another restaurantthis fall.

Previous experience:After high school I moved toJackson Hole, Wyo., to work formy brother, who was an execu-tive chef at a hotel out there. Andthen I trained for an Austrianchef who became a mentor. Icame to Louisiana in 1984 andwent to Baton Rouge and openedup Juban’s Restaurant, where Iwas the executive chef, and fromthere I went to Covington.

Noted for: Being consistent butalso trying to evolve. We try tobalance what the customerexpects from us with trying newand different ideas and dishes.

Favorite ingredient: We do aveal dish, which is kind of a signa-ture item. It is a version of the clas-sic veal Oscar with a little twist to it.We also have a signature crabmeatbrie soup that people really like.

Favorite dish: I don’t have anyone dish. It is really more a mat-ter of coming up with new thingsI know people will like.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: Every dayyou learn something new, andthat really keeps me going.•

— Garry Boulard

Kim KringlieThe Dakota Restaurant


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Nearly 300 people attended the 2008 Culinary Connoisseurscocktail reception July 31 at the New Orleans Museum of Art.Medallions were presented to the 50 honorees upon arriving,and Publisher Mark Singletary recognized each honoree later inthe evening. These and other photos can be seen on theCityBusiness photo gallery at www.neworleanscitybusiness.com.

Photos by Frank Aymami

Culinarycelebration

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen executive chef Paul Miller, left, andLegend honoree Paul Prudhomme.

Honorees Tommy Cvitanovich, left, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant owner, and John Besh, owner ofAugust, Besh Steak, La Provence and Lüke.

Honorees Sergio Lopez, left, Tommy’s Cuisine maitre d’, and Michael Juan, LeParvenu sommelier.

From left: Honorees Tim, Pat and Terry Patton of Patton’s Catering.


From left: Honorees Jerry Amato, Mother’s Restaurant owner; Gary Darling, co-owner of Zea and Semolina; Chef Duke LoCicero, Café Giovanni executive chef; andGreg Reggio, co-owner of Zea and Semolina.

Honorees Larry Herbert, left, and Chris Newton,Brigtsen’s sous chef and pastry chef, respectively.

Honoree Bill Briand, Cochon sous chef, and fiancéeAlexis Wingate.

Honoree Marie Hasney, of Fleur de lis New OrleansCuisine and grandson Ryne D’Arensbourg.


Honorees Beth Biundo, left, Lilette pastrychef, and Slade Rushing, MiLa chef.

Honoree Ross Eirich, Nathan's Restaurantexecutive chef, and wife, Gena.

Honorees Rick Blount, left,and Michael Regua, Antoine’sowner and executive chef,respectively.

From left: Honorees Kenny LaCour, The Dakota Restaurant owner, Chris Ycaza, Galatoire’ssommelier, and Kim Kringlie, The Dakota Restaurant owner and executive chef.

Nearly 300 people celebrateduring the inaugural CulinaryConnoisseurs cocktail receptionat the New Orleans Museum ofArt July 31.


Honorees Tommy Andrade, left, Tommy's Cuisine owner, and Sergio Lopez, Tommy’s maitre d’.

Kim Radetich and Mark Peters

Joy and Boysie Bollinger.

From left: Klara,Tommy and LeanneCvitanovich of Drago’sSeafood Restaurant

Emeril’s Delmonicogeneral managerSaleem Nawaz, left,and honoree ChrisYcaza, Galatoire’ssommelier.

Professional training andeducation: I have a biology/phi-losophy degree from the Universityof Alabama, but when I took theMCAT and went to my medicalschool interview, I decided that was-n’t what I wanted to do. ... I earnedan associate’s degree in culinary artsfrom Johnson and Wales Universityin Charleston, S.C., but mostly Ilearned on the job.

Years at establishment:I was a sous chef at Ralph’s on thePark before Hurricane Katrina. …Ralph’s had some down time whenthey didn’t know what they were goingto do. In the meantime, Galatoire’sopened a location in Baton Rouge. Ibecame executive chef in Baton Rougeat the Bistro in December 2005. Whenthe executive chef of Galatoire’s NewOrleans resigned, I was asked to beexecutive chef of both.

Previous experience: While Iwas in Charleston, I worked for Bob

Wagner of Charleston Grill andlearned volumes from him. When Imoved back, I worked for ReneBajeux at Rene Bistro and La CoteBrasserie as a sous chef. Then Iwent to work at Ralph’s on the Park.My first job was as a busboy atTony Angelo’s.

Noted for: I just won a Louisianaseafood cooking competition, whichmeans I get to represent Louisianain the Great American SeafoodCookoff. … I made sautéed cobia (alemon fish) with Louisiana blue crabbutter.

Favorite ingredient: Louisianashrimp. … There are so many thingsyou can do with fresh shrimp. Youcan use them in classic dishes like wedo at Galatoire’s — remoulade orCreole — but also in so manycuisines.

Favorite dish: To eat? Trout pecan.I like that it is so simple — a quick

piece of fish, with meuniere sauce andtoasted pecans is hard to beat.

Community involvement:The Galatoire family does so manythings I am involved with, includingthe auctioning of tables (for charity)the Fridays before Mardi Gras andChristmas. We’ve raised over$250,000 with the past five auc-tions. I also participate in career dayat my alma mater, Jesuit HighSchool, and a mentor programwhere juniors and seniors canspend a week with alumni in a par-ticular career.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry: Maybe I stumbledupon it, but once it gets in yourblood, it’s an extremely rewardingbusiness to be in. We are in the busi-ness of creating other people’s mem-ories and making their events special,and I find that very rewarding.•

— Angelle Bergeron

Galatoire’s Restaurant and Galatoire’s Bistro

Brianlandry

Professional training andeducation:I went to the California CulinaryAcademy and studied businessfor four years at Louisiana StateUniversity.

Years at establishment: I’vebeen the original owner (ofHerbsaint) for about eight yearsnow and we opened Cochon inthe spring of 2006.

Previous experience: Iworked in California and forabout eight years at places likeJardiniere and Flying Saucer thenworked here in New Orleans at

Bayona in the early ’90s as asous chef.

Noted for: The fact we all worktogether as a team, make a verygood product and I take care ofmy people and my staff.

Favorite ingredient: Salt.Everything needs it and it canmake or break a dish.

Favorite dish: Gumbo andduck confit.

Community involvement:We do a lot of the SOS Night OutSheriff’s events, and I’m on the

board with Edible Schoolyard. I’vegone over there and cooked withthe children. We also recently dida dinner with Café Reconcile.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: It’s the peo-ple I work with. When I startedcooking, it just seemed like whereI belonged and a good fit. There’salways a lot of energy in the backand the front of a restaurant. Thedining room, the liveliness of it.It’s a gathering place for people, abig social event, and we get to bea part of that all the time.•

— Craig Guillot

Herbsaint and Cochon chef and owner

Donaldlink

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Professional training andeducation: I went to the CulinaryInstitute of America and graduatedin 1980.

Years at establishment:I’m going on 18 years at CaféGiovanni.

Previous experience: I worked ata place called the Brownstone, andI opened Tony Valone’s The Grottoin Houston. I also worked at VictoryCountry Club in Victory, Texas. Ialso worked at a place called theSea Catch in New Jersey. It was thefirst Cajun-style restaurant alongthe beach up there.

Noted for: I think the restaurant isnoted for being a complete diningexperience. We have a great loungewhere you can get a drink before din-

ner, then you move into the diningroom where you get live music andother entertainment.

Favorite ingredient: That’s hard tosay. Something I use quite a bit isLouisiana seafood. Being in NewOrleans, I love to use local ingredients.

Favorite dish: The Chef Duke tast-ing menu. I get to create and try dif-ferent things for different people. Itgives a person a wide scope of thecuisine. I’m also partial to the OystersGiovanni, which is fried oysters on astained glass plate of sauces. It is thesecond-best oyster dish in town.

Community involvement: I wasthe first guy to come in and reinventthe upper Decatur Street area andhelped found the Upper Decatur StreetFoundation. There was a time when

that part of the street was the worstspot in New Orleans — you used tohave to run down that street before Imoved there in 1991. I also do a lotwith my Chef Duke Foundation forKids, which I started about 17 yearsago with my wife Kelly. We help kidswith medical problems and bring toysto kids at Children’s Hospital andTulane Hospital. Last year, we gaveaway toys to 200 kids.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry: I just love the busi-ness. I started when I was 12 andnever got out of it. Many years ago Iworked at House of Lee and workedwith David Lee. He was always nice toeveryone. He was the one whoencouraged me to go into the industry.You’ve got to cook from your heart.•

— Robin Shannon

Café Giovanni

Duke LoCicero

Professional training: Iwent to culinary school atJohnson and Wales inCharleston, S.C.

Years at establishment:Seven

Previous experience:Before here, I worked at Mr. B’sBistro, had a short stint atCrescent City Brewhouse andgot started at the HyattRegency Superdome.

Noted for: I’m a big propo-nent of the “by-hand” philoso-phy. I just really enjoy respect-ing the ingredients and respect-ing the traditions and the cul-tures and not trying to reinventit. We do alter things a little bit,but I can’t say I invented any-thing.

Favorite ingredient:Anything pork.

Favorite dish: Here at therestaurant, my favorite dishright now is the lamb. It’s aMoroccan spice lamb withMerquez sausage, with mint andratatouille, made with minced-up dates to give a little sweet-ness and served with a crispysocca chip, which is like a thinchickpea crepe or pancake.

Community involvement:I’ve personally done benefitdinners for things like theSusan G. Komen Breast CancerFoundation. Delmonico’s everyyear participates in the gala atCanal Place for cancer, and wedo a lot of stuff for CaféReconcile. My favorite thing todo every year is go to some-

body’s house for the GreaterNew Orleans Youth Orchestra.With Katrina, it was a difficultdecision for a lot of people tocome back, and I’m just tryingto keep that kind of stuff localfor the people in the city. A fewchefs and I, we’re working real-ly hard to get farmers to cometo the city with local produce;we go to the farmer’s markets.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry:I can’t sit behind a desk, I’m notnecessarily a social butterfly, sothe kitchen offers me the free-dom to be who I am. The cultureof being a chef — the stress, thelate nights, a lot of wine, a lot ofgood food — ultimately, I thinkit’s very satisfying.•

— Leah Bartos

Spencer MinchEmeril’s Delmonico

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Professional training andeducation: I have more than 16years of experience in a fine diningkitchen with a degree in culinaryarts from Kendall College inChicago. I completed an extern-ship at Commander’s Palace whilein college and ended up falling inlove with New Orleans. Once Igraduated, I had to come back.

Years at establishment:One year at Bourbon House, but Ihave been with Dickie Brennan formore than 15 years — four yearsat Commander’s Palace and 11years at Palace Café.

Previous experience:I was sous chef at Commander’sPalace and Palace Café, executivechef of Palace Café and am nowexecutive chef of Bourbon Houseand Palace Café.

Favorite ingredient: Pork,

because it’s a very versatile meatand it’s delicious. I also loveshoots of any kind, like pea shootsand corn shoots, sprouts and edi-ble blossoms. I like okra blossoms,yellow squash blossoms, eggplantflowers, just not tobacco flowers(word to the wise, don’t bother try-ing a tobacco flower).

Favorite dish: Crawfish boudinand Zapp’s Potato Chips.

Community involvement:I have taken to the Louisiana farm-ers’ cause very strongly and per-sonally, so much so I initiatedcontact and established a relation-ship with several small-time farm-ers in the Paulina and Grand Pointareas. It has been difficult becauseCajun farmers don’t have all thatmuch trust in “big city” business-men. Over the past six weeks Ihave been to Paulina three to fourtimes a week (two of these are

usually his days off) packing myown truck with fresh, Louisiana-grown produce.

Noted for: Teaching new culinari-ans. Always evolving the menurequires a kitchen staff committedto growth. I operate on a horizon-tal hierarchy. Each member of theteam is actively involved in themenu development. Questions areencouraged, as well as learningfrom trial by error. I act as a men-tor by giving the team the free-dom to learn through self-expres-sion and experimentation. I alsopush them to learn from eachother.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry: My father-in-law,a Wisconsin farmer, butcher andcanner who possessed the abilityto grow and produce great food.•

— Robin Shannon

Bourbon House and Palace Café

Darin Nesbit

Professional training andeducation: I’ve never had culi-nary training, but I worked at dif-ferent hotels and a couple restau-rants at night (while still atAntoine’s). Going to school teachesyou the basics, but going restau-rant to restaurant, you get to learnthe people. On-the-job experienceis where it’s at.

Years at establishment: 36

Previous experience: I workedat the Monteleone, Royal Sonestaand four different Holiday Inns. Iwas taught the hard way what peo-ple enjoy coming out of the kitchen.

Favorite ingredient: You gottahave your basics: your onions,

your garlic. Seasonings meaneverything in food. Whatever foodyou’re using, you still have to haveall those seasonings to bringeverything together.

Favorite dish: I love sauces. TheMarchand de vin sauce we make,to me, is top-notch. Another one Ilike they call the truit au vin blanc.It’s a base sauce made withshrimp, crabmeat and oysters,and the fish itself is poached soft.And I love gumbo. I love bisque.

Community involvement:We did the Make a Wish, we do theFrench Quarter Festival and theSeafood Festival. We do a lot ofcharities; we go places and we givea lot of tastings. I do demonstra-

tions at festivals, things like that.

Noted for: I do a French Creolestyle because that’s what I wastrained in. I am venturing off of thata little bit, but I still always go backto the French Creole style of cook-ing. I was raised in the city, so a lotof things I do are city-oriented.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: What makesit great is to see people happy. Italk (with people) just to get thefeel of people’s experience andenjoyment; that’s a huge inspira-tion. When I meet people and Ican actually see it in their faces,that’s big for me.•

— Leah Bartos

Antoine’sMike ReguaBest

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Professional training andeducation:I really have no culinary educa-tion. I went to SoutheasternLouisiana University for indus-trial drafting and design andcame back here and startedworking at Emeril’s. My special-ty is butchering; that’s what Ido. I cut up pigs — whole ani-mals … I cure bacon.

Years at establishment:I’ve been here since we openedabout two and a half years agoright after the hurricane.

Previous experience: Iworked at Emeril’s for about sixyears. Then I worked atHerbsaint for about three years,then here since it opened. Ilearned a lot at Emeril’s with it

being such a big restaurant. Iwas the butcher there, a sauci-er there and worked aboutevery station in the wholerestaurant. I learned a lot aboutcooking.

Favorite ingredient: Bacon.I put it in everything, no ques-tions about it.

Favorite dish: I like Cajunfood and sausages like boudinand andouille. That’s what wedo and that’s why I like workinghere at Cochon.

Noted for: People would sayI’m probably noted for mymotivational skills. I try tomake it fun. When we’re work-ing hard, I try to make every-body laugh. I always try to

make things fun and interestingin the restaurant.

Community involvement:We stay involved with thefarmer’s market and have done abunch of cooking out there forthem. Anything to keep localfarmers going. We try to buyeverything locally and that is partof our involvement in this city.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I kind ofgot into it as an accident butonce I did, I enjoyed the com-petition. The sky is the limitand when you want to take itthere, you have to do it. Youhave to come in every day andtry to make things better.•

— Craig Guillot

Cochon Restaurant

WilliamBriand

BestSousChefs


Professional training and edu-cation: I began my cooking careerin 1979 as an apprentice to ChefDaniel Bonnot at the Louis XVIRestaurant. After a four-month“stage” with Chef Roland Durand atthe Hotel Sofitel in Paris in 1982, Ireturned to New Orleans to openSavoir Faire in the St. Charles Hotelas chef de cuisine. In 1985, I traveledthroughout California and Europe,returning to work in the kitchen at theMeridien Hotel’s Henri. In 1986, I leftto open the Bistro at Maison deVillein the Hotel Maison deVille.

Years at establishment:I opened Bayona with Regina Keeverin the spring of 1990.

Previous experience: I was atypesetter, cocktail waitress and vari-ous other things I didn’t really enjoy.A girlfriend of mine, Pamela Calhoun,got a chef’s position at a lunchrestaurant downtown and I started

helping her. I found it much morerewarding than any of the other jobsI had. ... You can go anywhere andtalk to people about food, learnabout food and find inspiration.

Noted for: I’m probably noted forconsistency and attention to detail.That’s what I’ve tried to teach a lotof the people who have worked forme. … Anything I do, I would like tofeel I do well. I just don’t have thatmany other talents.

Favorite ingredient: Lemon. Itadds so much, packs a punch andyou can use it a lot of different ways.Citrus, in general, is really great, butif I had to pick one, it’s the lemon. …A little squeeze of lemon is such abright note.

Favorite dish: That changes onany given day. My favorite thing toeat overall is probably ice cream. If Ihad to pick one thing that really

makes me happy, it’s ice cream. Itend to really like coffee Häagen-Dazs ice cream, although we makereally great ice cream here at therestaurant.

Community involvement: Wetry to do a little bit of everything. Ilive here. New Orleans is my home,and I feel like community involve-ment is part of being a citizen. … Iam involved in worldwide hungerrelief, cultural interests and lots ofstuff to benefit the local food bank.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: My friendPamela Calhoun. She’s the one whogot me involved. My mom wasalways a great cook, but Pamelawas the first one who kind ofexplained a lot of the process tome, gave it definition so my under-standing took shape. •


Bayona

Susan SpicerBestExecutive

Chefs



Professional training andeducation: I’ve been a chef for 14years. I attended the CulinaryInstitute of America in Napa Valley,Calif., and the French Pastry Schoolin Chicago. I really think most ofwhat I’ve learned comes from thechefs I’ve worked with in the past.

Years at establishment:I’ve been with GW for almost threeyears. I started about two monthsbefore Hurricane Katrina, and wewere one of the first fine diningrestaurants to reopen after the storm.

Previous experience:I’ve worked as a chef in two Chicagorestaurants — Deleece and Nola’s32nd Ward. I’ve also worked as a

chef in two Seattle restaurants —the Garage and the Four Seasons.

Favorite ingredient: The leavesfrom the Kafir lime tree are fun towork with. They are incrediblyvibrant and fresh during this time ofyear and can definitely liven up andlighten up a dish.

Favorite dish: Our menuchanges daily, but my favorite dishright now is the grilled pompano.The ingredients used in the prepa-ration of this dish create the per-fect balance of sweet and savory. Iactually added it to our menu aftertasting different types of foodswhile on a recent trip to theDominican Republic.

Community involvement:My wife Carol and I have this proj-ect where we replace nets on bas-ketball hoops throughout the IrishChannel and parts of Uptown.

Noted for: I’m known for keepingmy cool in very high-pressure situ-ations. I believe I have a very lowturnover rate for that reason. I’malso very service-oriented and qual-ity-oriented.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I have a lovefor food and enjoy working with itenough to put myself to do this on adaily basis.•

— Nayita Wilson

GW Fins

Michael NelsonBestSousChefs


Professional training and education: Ididn’t go to culinary school. I actually went toschool to be a mechanic. But after I got out ofschool, my older brother was working atArnaud’s as a waiter, and he got me on as afood runner. I ended up staying at Arnaud’sfor about five years and worked at every sta-tion in the restaurant, with the exception ofbeing sous chef. When I finally decided toleave Arnaud’s, Kevin Davis, who was the chefthere at that time, asked me why I was going.And I told him I thought I had learned every-thing I possible could have at Arnaud’s, andhe said, “That is exactly what I wanted to hearyou say.” He actually called Frank Brigtsenand helped me find work at Brigtsen’s.

Years at establishment:I have been at Brigtsen’s for 14 years now,with eight of those years as a sous chef.

Previous experience:I’ve been lucky in that I have worked withgood people who had a lot of patience and

were willing to take the time out to show mehow things are done at both restaurants. Somy training, or education, has been entirelyon the job at just these two restaurants.

Favorite ingredient: I like using shrimpand crabmeat as much as I can.

Favorite dish: The crab sautee.

Noted for: I don’t think any one thing thatcomes to mind, except that anyone whoknows me knows it is very important for methat you enjoy the food I create.

Inspiration to work in the culinaryindustry: We have a lot of people atBrigtsen’s who come back into the kitchenand tell you how much they enjoy what youmade for them. When you can see in a cus-tomer’s face that they really loved the meal— that really means a lot to me.•

— Garry Boulard

Brigtsen’s Restaurant

Larry HerbertBestSousChefs



Professional training andeducation: I’ve been in the busi-ness since I was knee-high to atotem pole. I grew up in St.Bernard, around all of those profes-sional waiters and servers. I comefrom a long line of family membersworking in the industry.

Years at establishment: I’vebeen out here for six and a halfyears.

Previous experience: I was abusboy at the Sazerac Room backin the ’60s. I’ve worked at Arnaud’sand Louis XIV. I also helped withstaff training at the Hyatt Hotel.

Favorite wine: I used to say Idon’t have a favorite, but actually,it’s the very next bottle I open —

hopefully. Not all wines are thesame, and each year is differentfrom the next. Wine was made toshare with friends and should bechosen by what will enhance theflavor of the food being eaten. Thatis the job of a sommelier to matchdrink to food.

Most expensive bottleopened: I don’t pay attention tothat. A good bottle of wine is moreworthy of the price on the label.Wine is judged as a craft, and themaker of the wine is an artist.

Community involvement: I’mup for the Lions Club of Kenner, I’ma member of the RivertownBusiness Association, I volunteerwith Special Olympics, I do workwith the NFL Players Association in

New Orleans and I am an activemember of St. Philip Church.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: Well, asidefrom being around the business forso long, I think a lot of my inspira-tion comes from my Aunt Marie.She was all of 5 feet tall and 98pounds of sheer hell. She workedat the Plantation Room while I wasa busboy at the Fairmont Hotel. Shehad her own area of that place andpeople would come in just to sit inthat area. These people were lead-ers of the community and shewould abuse them so bad. I’dalways tell her she can’t talk to peo-ple like that, and she’d say, “Shutup, they love every minute of it.”•

— Robin Shannon

Le Parvenu

Michael Juan

Professional training andeducation: I took the basic coursefor quartermaster sommelier severalyears ago, but it’s really been on-the-job training more than anything.I became seriously interested in winein 1994 when I worked at Emeril’stending bar. I started with an artscholarship at Savannah College ofArt Design in 1985 and switched toEnglish at Louisiana State University.I thought I would end up writing orpainting, but wine offers that samesort of creativity through under-standing nuances of pairing foodand structuring a list or program.

Years at establishment:I was recruited as general managerin August 2006. ... An improved,expanded wine list increases prof-itability and makes Galatoire’s amore desirable place to go. The oldmenu had a very small wine list, noteven 100 wines, and sometimes theyweren’t even vintage specified. Now

we have well over 400 selections onthe list, and it pretty much spans theglobe.

Previous experience:After Emeril’s, I went to Bizou,owned by Daniel Bonnot. I helpedget the Red Room off the ground in1998, ran a French restaurant, 201,which is now defunct, and spent sixand a half years at CuveeRestaurant.

Favorite wine: I have so many. Idon’t think there is enough room inthis article to write all the ties forfirst place. When it comes to reds, itwill be Burgundy, probably aChambertin Clos de Beze fromArmand Rousseau. For whites, it willprobably be a great, older Riesling.Clos Ste. Hune comes to mind.

Most expensive bottle opened:There have been bottles I’ve openedfor collectors who have come to din-

ner and brought something fromtheir own collection that would cer-tainly top the $3,000 price point atan auction. Someone came in andasked how many bottles I had of the2004 Domaine Des Comtes LafonMontrachet, and I only had one bot-tle. That was $1,625.

Community involvement:I’m involved with New Orleans Wineand Food Experience and Galatoire’sannual charitable auctions held theFriday before Mardi Gras andChristmas. I’m also trying to estab-lish a relationship between therestaurant and the Drew BreesFoundation.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: It was a natu-ral progression of what a lot of kidsdo in college to supplement the stu-dent loans — work in restaurants.•


Galatoire’s RestaurantChris Ycaza

BestSommeliers

BestSommeliers

Galatoire’s sommelierand general managerChris Ycaza lets customer DavidPayne sample a wine during lunch.




Professional training andeducation: I went to the FrenchCulinary Institute (in New York), inthe pastry program. I lived therefor six years.

Years at establishment: I’veworked here for four years.

Previous experience: In town Iworked at Cuvée and Delmonico.

Favorite ingredient: Just one?I like using all the different season-al fruits; I like fruit desserts morethan chocolate. Also, I like puttingsalt in desserts because it reallybrings the flavors out. I try to goto the farmer’s market when I can(for local fruit).

Favorite dessert: People alwaysask me that, and I never have agood answer for it. I like fruitdesserts. I almost never eat choco-late. I’m not a big fan of it. I likeanything with blueberries, or reallygood fruit. Right now it’s blueber-ries — I have a million of them, soit’s all I’m thinking of. And I like icecream. It’s one of my favoritethings to make. It’s really easyonce you get the hang of it.

Community involvement:I’m involved in the Women Chefsand Restaurateurs Conventionthat’s coming up. I’m on the com-mittee for that. I am doing the pas-try presentation there with twoother pastry chefs in town. They do

it every year in a different city, andsince it’s in New Orleans this yearit’s kind of focusing on NewOrleans issues a little bit.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: It’s beensomething I’ve always enjoyed. SinceI was a little kid I’ve always bakedand kind of just had never looked atit as a profession. I was cookingwhile I was in grad school for art his-tory, doing gallery work and museumwork and that kind of thing and was-n’t loving grad school. I was in NewYork at the time, and there is such ahuge restaurant scene, so it seemedlike a good thing to do.•

— Jason Saul

Lilette

Beth Biundo

Professional training and edu-cation: I went to culinary school inFarmington Hills, Mich., at theCulinary Studies Institute and I havea degree in culinary art and restau-rant management

Years at establishment:I moved to New Orleans and startedhere in August 2006.

Previous experience: I workedmy way through the industry. I start-ed out as a hot food cook at a fewcountry clubs, and I even worked atDunkin Donuts for six months. In1993, I opened my own pastry shopand company in Northville, Mich., andin 1999, I was offered the position forthe first casino pastry chef in Detroit.I also did a bunch of competitions

including some for the Food Channel.

Noted for: I would have to say it’sour French macaroons. Anotherwould be the Tiffany, which is ourbest selling desert. It’s a chocolatemoose with a raspberry interior.And, there’s always the box ofchocolates.

Community involvement:We do a fair amount of things. Oneof the things I would like is to getinvolved with is to work with the lessfortunate and go directly to them.

Favorite ingredient: Actually, youalways have to start everything witha good staff. And, every single thingwe do, we do from scratch on prem-ises. If we’re going to make a sand-

wich, we are going to make thebread.

Favorite dessert: At Sucré, it’sthe éclair. Bar none, it is the bestdamn éclair you will ever have. Mypersonal favorite dish is ChickenTikka Massala. I’m British and that’san Indian dish that I like.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry: I think it’s not what Ido, it’s just who I am. Originally, it wasjust easier than going to engineeringcollege to be an architect, but it tookme only about three weeks in culinaryschool to figure out this is what Iwanted to do. It’s a great creative out-let and I enjoy making people happy.•

— Craig Guillot

Tariq HannaSucré

BestPastryChefs

BestPastryChefs





Professional training andeducation: All of my educationand training has taken place atthis one restaurant. I actuallystarted off as a dishwasher. Iwas just out of high school andjust about to make 17 years old.Now I am 40 years old. So Ithink I am a rare commodity:someone in my age bracket whohas had one job for this long.

Years at establishment: I’vebeen here for 22 years.

Previous experience:I went through all of the steps tobecome a baker, which in mycase included being a dishwash-er and prep cook and workingthe salad station. … I am theonly baker here and am alwaysdoing two or three things at one

time. I memorized all of therecipes for whatever I will bebaking, so I am not wasting timeby looking things up in a book.Everything I bake is in my head.

Favorite ingredient: I lovedoing the crust that goes withthe pecan pie. A pie crustrequires finesse to get the per-fect texture; you really have towork at it.

Favorite desert: The choco-late cake is probably the mostpopular. We have a chocolatesauce that goes with it. But myown favorite is the pecan pie. Ilove to bake it. Everyone thinksyou just throw the pecans in,but some you put in the grinderand also roast them. Roastingbrings out their perfect flavor.

Community involvement:I’ve done baking for Save ourSchools, but someday in thefuture I would really like to teacha class in one of the publicschools, nothing big, maybe 10people or so, just to show themthe basics of baking.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: When theyserve my desserts at night andcustomers leave letters for me— people from all over theworld, telling me the cake wasthe best cake they ever had orthe pie was the best. That makesme feel great. My main thing isseeing people getting theirmoney’s worth and beinghappy.•

— Garry Boulard

Brigtsen’s Restaurant

Chris NewtonBestPastryChefs

Congratulationssous chef LARRYY HERBERT

pastry chef CHRISS NEWTON

for being chosen as

CityBusiness Culinary Connoisseurs!

723 Dante S t . • New Or leans , LA

www.b r ig t sens .com • 504 .86 1 . 76 10

Liz Baldini

293-9213

[email protected]

Ginger Graf

293-9268

[email protected]

Coco Evans Judd

293-9288

[email protected]

Cassie Foreman

293-9222

[email protected]

Jeanne Farrell

293-9731

[email protected]

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Years at establishment:I started in 2001 when I was newlygraduated from Louisiana StateUniversity. I stayed here for abouttwo years and then moved away toColorado for four. Then when Imoved back, the Brennans heard Iwas in town and they asked me to bethe maitre d’, so I accepted. So I’vebeen back for about a year and a half.

Previous experience: Growingup in Bayou Lafourche, we didn’thave a lot of restaurants in that partof town. It’s a very small town, a lotof sugarcane farming, fishing indus-try … so we did a lot of entertainingout of homes. My mother enter-tained a lot, so I helped her. Sheworks for a shipyard, so she would

entertain her clients and (conduct)guest management stuff at thehome. So I kind of ran her kitchenfor a long time, and through thatI’ve had catering experiences, but itwas always kind of under the table,to use another restaurant term.

Community involvement:Through the restaurant I was able tobe part of Girls First, which is a pro-gram set up with Helen Siegel to pro-vide girls with activities throughoutthe year. … I was able to do what wecall their etiquette class, and that wasa lot of fun. A hundred little girlscame and ate at the restaurant, andwe taught them how to properly useCommander’s Palace silver, whichsilver is theirs and candles, and nap-

kins and all that. I’m also a part of agroup called the Camel Toe LadySteppers, a Mardi Gras group.

Most notable guests: There’snothing better than when you seeAllen Toussaint’s Rolls Royce driveup, and he has this aqua blue RollsRoyce convertible. When I see thatcoming down the street, there’s justnothing better than knowing Mr.Toussaint’s going to be eating in myrestaurant.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I just likeentertaining. I think it goes alongwith being a bayou lady.•

— Laura Mattingly

Commander’s Palace

RobinBordelon

Years at establishment:I have been with Morton’sSteakhouse for 10 years, four inNew Orleans. The first time I cameto the city was when (Hurricane)Ivan was bearing down. We werelanding, and the pilot said youcould look out the window and seethe evacuation of the city happen-ing right now.

Previous experience: I startedwith Morton’s in Houston, and Iworked in San Francisco for fouryears. But the reason I picked NewOrleans is because I like theSouth. It’s very nice, and the peo-ple are very nice and generous. ...Before working for Morton’s, Iworked for a restaurant in Houstonand in a hotel back home in

Croatia. That was when I wasyounger, just holding summerjobs. I told my mom I would be achef one day; I never got to be achef, but I love working in thefront of the house so much.

Community involvement:We work with Deuce McAllister’sCatch 22 organization, the DryadesYMCA school supply drive, theNew Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Wedid the Toys for Tots with theMarines. One of my goals was toget more involved when I camehere. Morton’s wasn’t reallyinvolved in the community.

Most notable guests: You geta lot of Saints players that comethrough. Deuce is a regular with

us; Reggie Bush, MarquesColston, every year, every seasonthey came in. That’s how we start-ed working with Catch 22. All ofthat developed from just meetingat the restaurant and asking “Whatare you doing in the city? How canwe help?”

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I wanted tobe a chef when I was a kid, but Ienjoyed the front of the house somuch. The passion for me is mak-ing people happy. For me when Iwork at night, it’s like I’m throwinga dinner party at my house. I knowguests by name, talk to them —it’s like an extended family.•

— Jason Saul

VedranKomazecMorton’s — The Steakhouse

BestMaitre D’s

BestMaitre D’s





Years at establishment:I have worked in the business for 15years, five at Tommy’s Cuisine and10 at Irene’s Cuisine, TommyAndrade’s former restaurant.

Previous experience:I’ve been in the business all of mylife. I’m from Mexico City, Mexico. Itraveled around this country when Iwas younger working in restaurants.I used to be the assistant maitre d’ atThe Fairmont New Orleans SazeracRestaurant and Bar.

Community involvement:I am very involved with my church,St. Anthony of Padua Catholic

Church. I help with the CatholicYouth Organization.

Most notable guests:First of all, everybody is a VIP. We’vehad Mayor C. Ray Nagin, city councilmembers, other politicians and Saintsfootball players.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry:My father was in the business. Hewas so nice with people. He told meto always be polite with people andto respect customers. He said to justsmile.•

— Amy Ferrara Smith

Tommy’s Cuisine

Sergio LopezBestMaitre D’s

Source: The Media Audit report released June 17, 2008

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Years at establishment: Weopened up in July 1979. We strug-gled at first, but finally made it.

Community involvement:I think you have to help whereverit is needed. You see what is hap-pening and go over there and tryto do something. I don’t pick onething to do and stay with itbecause there are so many thingsto do.

Major milestones: There havebeen a lot of milestones. You haveto appreciate anything that peopleaward you with or that they saypositively about you. I know somepeople might regard the booksthat I’ve put out and the TV showwe’ve done as major milestones,but to me those things have sim-

ply allowed me to share what Iknow and understand to be goodfood.

When we first opened therestaurant, people kept askingwhat we put in the food, so wegave them little foils of the season-ing we were using. Then peoplewanted to buy the ingredients, sowe put them first in Ziploc bagsand then jars. Now we have nearly40 retail outlets and thousands offormulas available for what we’vedone over the years that peoplecan use.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I got into thebusiness in 1956 before my 16thbirthday. I opened a restaurant inmy hometown, and it didn’t lastvery long, but I had a good time.

Back then you could open arestaurant for about $4,500, buyall of the equipment second-handand start cooking. I was just ahard-headed young guy trying todo what he believes in. It was alearning experience. The next threerestaurants in a row failed. Afterthe fourth one, we became suc-cessful.

I have always consideredmyself to be a cook, even though Iam also an owner and a chef. AndI think cooks have the best job inthe world. They can do things forthe human body that no other pro-fessional or scientist or doctorcan. What we do is build humanbody cells when they eat ourfood.•

— Garry Boulard

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen

PaulPrudhomme

Years at establishment:I came in 1946, when I got marriedto Dooky Chase II. The childrenstarted coming one after the other,so I didn’t come in here every day.I would come in the evening, andwhen they were all in school, Iwould stay longer. I thought Iwould be a waitress because Iworked as a waitress in the FrenchQuarter in the early ’40s, whenthey first started hiring femalewaitresses.

I started with Bessie Saueber,who opened the Coffee Pot in 1943.I was always in the kitchen, and thechef was always running me out.When I came here, I started off inthe kitchen. All the kitchen knewwas fried oysters, chicken and fish.In the early ’50s, I started cookinglunch everyday. In 1957, I startedputting dinners on with soup,salad, entrée and dessert.

That menu of stuffed shrimp,seafood platters, stuffed chicken

breasts and veal pannee neverchanged since 1957. People neverwanted me to change it.

Community involvement:I like the arts. Somewhere in theBible, Jesus said the poor you willalways have with you. People willalways have food and clothing, butthe arts give them something tolook up to. … It’s inspirational.Promoting the arts is so necessary,especially for kids today. You needto soften them up a bit and let themappreciate the pretty things in life.

Major milestones: You make adifference just when you lift upsomebody else. I never try to walkover other people. There’s hardlyanyone living here now, but beforeKatrina, this was a neighborhoodwith everybody — some drugaddicts and a little bit of everything.But I treated them like humanbeings, like people, and they

respected me. You climb on shoul-ders to get ahead, but you don’tmash them. … Sometimes I getfrustrated and angry that we aremoving so slow, but we have goodpeople in New Orleans. I don’t carewhat they say about racism in theSouth, we do come together whenwe need to help one another.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I guess it wasthe people. You learn somethingfrom them and to appreciate things.If you feed people good, you canalways make them happy. A wholelot of people came to my table andthey all left a little something youcan remember. I served the presi-dent grits and quail with plum jellythe last time he was in town. Itmeant so much to me for the presi-dent to say, “Leah, I love this gritsand quail.”•


Leah chaseDooky Chase Restaurant

Legends

Legends




Years at establishment:I’ve worked at Don’s for 47 years. Istarted when I was 20 years old,and I’ve never looked back.

Community involvement: I liketo cook for my relatives when theyare sick, and then I deliver the pre-pared meals to their homes. I’malso a member of New GideonBaptist Church in Baton Rouge andam involved with SistersSupporting Sisters, a supportgroup for breast cancer survivors.

Contribution to restaurant:I’m a good cook, and I arrive atwork on time. I mostly work in theback kitchen right now, but I alsoshare some of the cooking respon-

sibilities with another crewmember.I help prepare some of the sauces,chicken and seafood gumbos,bread pudding and stuffings.

Major milestones: I’m a breastcancer survivor. So many othershave battled with the disease, butmy support group helps me to notworry. It makes me feel good toknow I’m still surviving.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry: I just likecooking. I like the restaurant work.I’m proud to work with the man-agement department at Don’s, and Ilike the people I work for.•

— Nayita Wilson

cook, Don’s Seafood and Steak House in Baton Rouge

ShirleyAnthony

Years at establishment: 57.Marie Laborde began working atLea’s in 1951 — the year the restau-rant opened. She is the only employ-ee who has been with the restaurantsince it opened in Lecompte.Laborde started out washing dishesbefore becoming a waitress. At age74, she continues to work one houra day from 6-7 a.m.

Contribution to restaurant:Her dedication. Several years ago,she fell in a puddle on her way towork. She worked her shift beforecalling her sister to come pick herup and take her to the emergency

room. She had broken her right armand her right leg. She’s really abehind-the-scenes person and kindof stays to herself. We don’t openuntil 7 a.m. and she’s here from 6-7a.m. doing the salt and peppershak-ers, silverware, etc. If you’re nothere at 7, you won’t see her. Sheopens the store for everyone.

Inspiration to work in the culi-nary industry: It’s been her wholelife. When she’s not here, she says,referring to the employees, “Theymiss me.”•

— Christian Moises

Lea’s Lunchroom in Lecompte —Interview with Lea’s owner Ann Johnson

Marielaborde

lifetimeAchievement

lifetimeAchievement


Photo by Jason Brown

Photo courtesy Louisiana Restaurant Association


Years at establishment: 1960 to 2007,at all establishments within the Omni RoyalOrleans Hotel. I started as a busboy in1960, then I was a waiter and a bartenderin the Touche for six to eight months, did afew months in room service. … I workedas the assistant banquet rooms managerfor five years, then assistant maitre d’ for14 years, then maitre d’.

Community involvement:I spoke at a school (Abramson Charter) forcareer day for the hospitality industry. It(the job) just takes a lot out of your time.

Contribution to restaurant: My contri-bution was to make everyone who walkedinto that dining room feel like they werewalking into the dining room at my house.I treated them like a guest, not a customer.

Major milestones: (discussing his pro-motion to assistant banquet rooms manag-er) I was available, I was ready to work, Idid my job and management recognized it.It was exciting as hell when managementchose me for assistant banquet roomsmanager. I had no experience at all.

Inspiration to work in the culinaryindustry: When I was in high school, Iworked in Old Jefferson Downs as a bus-boy. I was looking for a job and had noidea what I wanted. My first busboy gigwas at the Omni Royal. It was fascinating.I learned something new every day aboutfood, wine, people, etc. Even though I didthe same thing every day, the people weredifferent every day.•

— Fritz Esker

Retired, Rib Room maitre d’

Daltonmilton

lifetimeAchievement

CityBusiness file photo

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117 Rue Decatur St. | New Orleans, LA 70130504.529.2154 | www.cafegiovanni.com

CongratulationsTO CHEF DUKE LOCICERO — CAFE GIOVANNI

for being chosen as one ofCityBusiness’s Culinary Connoisseurs!

also visit

Thank You New OrleansFor 18 Great Years!

Congratulations toNew Orleans

Culinary Connoisseurs

Dalton Milton, maitre d' of The Rib Room at the OmniRoyal Orleans Hotel for 46 years, rides in a FrenchQuarter second line after his retirement April 26,2007.


Years at establishment:I started in 1969 when I was ateenager. I held every possiblejob, even waitressed a little, andnow I am head cook. I was hiredby Clarence Soileau, the originalowner. … Mr. Clarence is 96,and I still bring him and hiswife, Mable, food from therestaurant every day.

Community involvement:I’ve never had much time for that.If I’m not working at the restau-rant, I am taking care of theSoileaus. Everybody at the restau-rant is like family to me. I’venever married or had children.

Contribution to restaurant:I’d have to say the personaltouch, the pride I take in gettingthings right. Mr. C raised us all

to believe you only get onechance to make a first impres-sion, and I always strive to makeit a good one. It’s important toplease the people. We have onehard and fast rule: We use quali-ty ingredients with no shortcuts.We make everything here, start-ing with our own raw product.We even make our own tartarsauce. Mr. C always said if youstart off with a quality product,there is not much you can do tomess it up.

Major milestones:This will be a major milestonefor me. In 2006, I was awardedthe Louisiana RestaurantAssociation’s legend award forbeing the longest employedworker at Soileau’s. We have 10employees who have been

employed 20 years or longer,but I’ve been here the longest. Ireally enjoy the environment ofrespect at Soileau’s. If some-thing is done wrong, no onefusses. We just work togetherto do it right the next time.

Inspiration to work in theculinary industry:I didn’t think I’d be doing it allmy life. I started out thinking itwas a job to earn a living, but Iwas good at it. Mr. C and hisbrother-in-law developed all therecipes we use and passedthem down. The recipes arekept under lock and key, but Ican’t remember the last time Ihad to look at them. They’re allin my head.•


Shirley RubinSoileau’s Dinner Club, Opelousas

lifetimeAchievement


Chef Mark Quitney’s

A FRESH APPROACH TO FOOD.

THERE’S A NEW CHEF IN TOWN.

COMPLIMENTARY VALET PARKING

NamedBest New

Restaurantby CityBusiness

Culinary Connoisseurs

French Market Coffee has been producing its New Orleans Famous Coffee & Chicory since 1890.

Throughout our 118 year history, we at French Market have celebrated our place

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