ROUSES.COM
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meet the chef
Meet the Chef —
john besh
I’M FROM HERE
and I will forever make a gumbo like my mother’s
gumbo because that is the gumbo that I know and that’s the one I think
is the true gumbo.
SHRIMP CREOLE
was the first serious dish I ever cooked.
I’M INTERESTED IN HOW WE CREATE NEW DISHES AND
NEW FLAVORS USING WHAT WE HAVE LOCALLY
while at
the same time paying homage to our heritage. I enjoy the fact that this
is how my dish is created and this is how my mother did it, this is how
my grandmother cooked it, and this is how I’m going to cook it. And at
the same time, it’s also fun to balance that with ingenuity and maybe a
modern take on local flavors here.
COOKING IS ONE OF THOSE PROFESSIONS WHERE WE
DEPEND ON ONE GENERATION TO TEACH THE OTHER.
I
apprenticed for Karl-Joseph Fuchs of the hotel and restaurant Spielweg
in Germany, and Chris Kerageorgiou, who ran La Provence, was a
profound influence. He and Chef Paul Prudhomme helped me go to
France to cook jazz brunches with Rudy Baur. Over the years, thousands
of cooks have come through my restaurants, and the lessons I learned
from my mentors gave me a foundation I’ve been able to pass on.
IT’SNOTJUSTTHEFOOD, BUTTHESHARING ITWITHEACH
OTHER.
So much effort goes into making dishes like jambalaya and red
beans and rice, so inviting people over to share it with — like my house
on any given Sunday — is the real beauty. Cook it, and they will come.
Meet the Chef —
brain landry
Restaurant:
Borgne, New Orleans, LA
IWASABUS BOYATTONYANGELO’S
in Lakeview.My nickname
was Mouse because I was five-foot-two, 105 pounds. The trays weighed
more than I did. I was a freshman at Jesuit and the guy who trained me,
Moose, was a senior offensive lineman at Brother Martin.
I GOT MY FIRST BACK OF THE HOUSE JOB
because the guy
who normally worked Garde Manger (the salad station) was in jail.
I was a waiter at 3636 (now Superior Grill), and as we were setting
up dinner service, the chef came asked us for a volunteer. I raised my
hand, and he said, “You don’t know what you just volunteered for.” I
volunteered again the next night, too, when the garde manger didn’t
make bail. I ended up getting a split schedule: part-time waiter, part-
time salad maker.
I COOKEDMYWAY THROUGH COLLEGE
at Alabama. I worked
the typical college spots, but always came back and cooked in New
Orleans over the summer.
I WAS PLANNING TO GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL
but I left my
first interview knowing I’d be much happier as a chef than a doctor. I
spent a year bartending at the Red Eye to save up for Johnson & Wales
(Culinary School, Charlotte, North Carolina).
BEING CHEF AT GALATOIRE’S MADE ME
appreciate the history
of cooking in a city like this.
AT BORGNE I GET TO PAY HOMAGE TO TRADITION
while
having a creative outlet to play with new things.
THIS SUMMER I’M HEADED TO SPAIN
with my wife on a food
research and development trip. I want to dive deeper into the Spanish
influence on Creole Cuisine.
photo by
Frank Aymami
“At Rouses, I get access to many of
the same ingredients I’m using in the
restaurant.”
—Brian Landry
Borgne’s famous fish in a bag.
