John Besh grew up in Southern Louisiana and his cooking is deeply rooted in the traditions and flavors of the Bayou. At an early age he learned the essentials of Louisiana’s rich culinary traditions working in commercial kitchens. He followed his palate around the world exploring the far-flung ingredients that now infuse his French cuisine at Restaurant August. Besh attended the Culinary Institute of America and following apprenticeships in Germany and France, he led a squad of infantry Marines in combat during Operation Desert Storm as a non-commissioned officer of the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
Since Hurricane Katrina, Besh has changed the way America thinks about food. He has renewed his previous commitment to buying locally to help invigorate the city and a food culture he loves. He served over 3,000 meals daily to the St. Bernard Parish civil servants and workers of local refineries and has helped to rebuild the venerable Willie Mae’s Scotch House in the Treme neighborhood. He has also served as educational director of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, is a member of the Southern Food Alliance and has served as a board member of the Southern Food and Beverage Association.
In 1999 Food & Wine magazine named John Besh one of the “Top 10 Best Chefs in America.” In 2006 James Beard named Besh the “Best Chef, Southeast” and he was victorious as the first New Orleans Chef to compete against Mario Batali on the Food Network’s Iron Chef. Gourmet has ranked Restaurant August 22nd in its “Top 50 Restaurants in the United States” and Gayot has named it a “Top 40 Restaurant in the U.S.” He also recently received the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s 2008 Restaurateur of the Year award. His other restaurants in New Orleans are Besh Steak in Harrah’s New Orleans Casino, Lüke, and La Provence.
Presenting at LMG09:
General Session - Keynote Speaker
Thursday, May 21, 2009, 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
"Sustainable Farming from a Louisiana Chef's Perspective"
Chef John Besh learned early in his career about the importance of local and sustainable farming practices from an internship in the Black Forest region in Germany. That message resonated after Hurricane Katrina when, in order to survive, local restaurants and farmers had to band together. Since then, he has been instrumental in helping create the largest urban garden in the United States working with the vibrant Vietnamese community of New Orleans East, developing a line of products solely with local ingredients and establishing a farm at La Provence in Lacombe, Louisiana, to supply his restaurants. This commitment has led to remarkable discoveries along the way; such as, oyster shells and crawfish peels that were once thrown away are great sources of beta carotene and give chickens eggs remarkable orange yolks. The entire restaurant group has benefited from growing and raising in ways that were never imagined.