It seems surprising that Tsunami Sushi Managing Partner Michele Ezell, who practically introduced sushi to her hometown of Lafayette, La., then later expanded to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, felt undeserving when selected to join the prestigious James Beard Foundation Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (WEL).
Known as The Cajun Ninja, Jason Derouen has gone from an everyday guy, following his passion for cooking, to a social media sensation. He has attracted followers in his home state of Louisiana, across the country, and around the world.
EXECUTIVE CHEF AND PROPRIETOR ERIC COOK
A native New Orleanian, Eric Cook spent six years serving our country in the United States Marine Corps. “I got out and got back home to New Orleans, and a friend of a friend got me a job in a kitchen,” he explained, crediting the start of his career as being “completely accidental.” This casual suggestion set the stage for the development of one of the most iconic chefs in New Orleans.
Jourdan and Field Nicaud were born restaurateurs. Their paternal grandparents owned restaurants in Chalmette and Gentilly, La., and passed on their culinary skills to son Kent Nicaud. It was Kent who taught his boys how to cook. At age 21, Jourdan bought a piece of property in Gulfport, Miss., and launched his first restaurant, Bacchus, named for his NOLA krewe. “For me, the most fun I had all year long was riding in the Bacchus parade,” Jourdan explains. “So that’s what I wanted the Bacchus restaurant to be — where it would be the most fun you’ll ever have when you walk in the restaurant.”
ROUX Magazine is honored to have Louisiana-Cooking legend Timmy Credeur as our in-house chef. Locally born and raised, cooking practically runs in this restauranteur’s blood. Credeur grew up working alongside his mother cooking and bussing tables at Don’s Seafood and Steakhouse, where his parents also met. In 1973, he teamed up with Donny Landry II to open Don’s Seafood Hut. In 1975, they expanded their menu and moved to their current location on Johnston Street, with himself as chef and mother as partner. Five years later, he would kickstart (and win) the first-ever gumbo and chili cookoff.
Week after week, the grillin’ gurus, Keith Guidry and Curt Guillory, bring you their unique brand of delicious entertainment. See what all the buzz is about and get your weekly dose of cooking wisdom, straight from the gurus themselves: Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. or anytime online at kdcg.com and on their Facebook page at facebook.com/cajungrilling.
Nash Barreca is the real deal. He’s been in the restaurant business for 54 years, starting at his grandfather’s circa 1944 restaurant, Frank’s Steakhouse, located on Freret Street in New Orleans. Barreca’s great-grandfather came from Italy to the United States in the 1880s, and his grandparents were fluent in Italian. “They spoke it whenever they didn’t want the grandkids to know what they were saying,” Nash recalls with a laugh.