My trip to New Orleans taught me a lot about the depth of cuisine. It's love. Love of food, art, tradition which becomes a lifestyle. I was a little taken back to see how hard some of these famous chefs work. Day in day out hands on management directing their staff from the kitchen line. Here is a summary from two of New Orleans top chefs.

Donald Link

Herbsaint

Go back in time…a time of wholesome food prepared fresh from quality local ingredients. Before bottom lines were the driver, before managers flipped guests as often as possible and restaurant settings were neutral attractive, before a chef’s focus was to cut back on food and labour costs destroying employee loyalty. You probably knew the family who ran your favorite restaurant, you felt a sense of home and you wanted to linger there.

Many places have strayed far from this ideal. People line up for food at some places like at a filling station, preservatives ensure that freshness is not necessary, chemicals make everything look pretty but at a cost. This has us all talking about our diets, exercise and a return to a wholesome living. The answer is a return to the beginning... wholesome cooking.

New Orleans chef Donald Link understands that. I met him on a recent trip there. He grew up in Crowley, Louisiana three hours north of New Orleans. He takes his inspiration from family meals at home or at Granny’s. Both sets of grandparents lived close by and one owned a 2-acre farm near Lake St. Charles making family gatherings large and regular. His whole style of cuisine is based on re-creating that taste and feel.

Unaffected by trends and fads, Donald cooks from his roots of Louisiana style home- cuisine where everything was prepared by hand from local available ingredients. So he prefers real food totally made under his restaurant’s roof. Pasta’s, mustards, ham’s, pastrami and sausages are all prepared under his direction, he would do more if he had the room. His menus express that home cooking in Guanciale (pig jowl bacon), Crawfish rice gratin, Duck rillette (confit rolled and breaded).  Strozzaperetti  (twisted penne type pasta) with house made ham, gruyere and black trumpets, creamy grits, and short ribs on potato cake.

Uncommon cuts like lamb shoulder are made into a roast with a meat stuffing, slowly cooked, cooled, cut into steaks, breaded, then finished on a pan and oven. Simple enough, except it’s all done with an artistic eye of presentation and style. The plating is picturesque French elegance. This cooking style won him James Beard recognition by his peers in 2002. Locals love to eat here or have their meetings over lunch. It’s new enough to catch everyone’s eye, but look closer and you recognize it’s family gathering food of long ago.  Reservations recommended, $12 for lunch while dinner mains are in the $20’s. Herbsaint.com

Susan Spicer

Bayona

Susan Spicer’s cookbook, Crescent City Cooking is your opportunity to sit down with a famous chef friend and learn from her culinary journey. This book has achieved the rare distinction of capturing attention and piquing interest for a very wide spectrum:  from home cooks who use books to find something delicious for friends and family to culinary apprentices seeking something extraordinary for their restaurant guests. (Check out the cornmeal crusted crayfish pies or the smoked salmon beignets!)

The book is a piece of culinary art in script and photos. A moving art show of gorgeous food pictures, live action cooking shots with personal and poetic details guiding all your senses through the creation of beautiful food.  Crescent City Cooking is a pleasure to read and a must for any foodie or aspiring chef. Comfort food is made exotic in Susan’s butternut squash spoon bread soufflé or black bean cakes in coriander sauce.

Every chapter and recipe is prefaced with Susan’s memories, anecdotal wisdom and coaching advice to help you better understand the inside reasoning’s for doing what you’re doing. You won’t get this kind of advice from any other chef… unless you’re their apprentice. As a chef I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was an interesting biography of a chef’s path as well as sharing thoughts about cooking from the heart. Step-by-step recipes and discussions about how to put food together was every bit as interesting and informative as the creation she and her long time team have developed together over the years at her restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Learn what foods to have on hand, where to get them and how to put them together to create eclectic dishes that make memories your friends and guests will talk about for a long time.

This book is an essential for food enthusiasts of any level to add to their cookbook collection. Use the recipes as a guide and adjust things according to your own tastes and equipment.

It will serve you well as a reference book, culinary vault of insider tips and a great read from an author who is passionate about the food she loves to cook. It’s a must have.

Donald Link has plans to expand his restaurant business. He has recently opened a new spot called Cochon. It showcases the food Donald grew up with at this Grandparents farm.  After speaking with him I realized he didn't do this for fame or money, that was a byproduct. He did it in memory of and honor for his family traditions. He  told me he wants to open a Charcuterie (a butcher shop). He would like to make his own cured meats, sausages and custom cuts for his restaurants. Donald is surrounded by a strong cast of support. After the Hurricane, long after, he kept his staff employed. Even though business dropped off considerably. When I met him two years after the storm his labor cost was hovering at 50%. He said he needed his staff and now they needed him. They had families and bills to pay too. Now who wouldn't dig deeper, work harder and come in on a day off for a Chef like that. Not a worker of good quality. It is no doubt to me that a year after interviewing him he has opened that butcher shop. Well done Donald. I wish you all the best of success in everything you do.