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

   Donald link - Herbsaint & Cochon

            New Orleans, Louisiana 

   Best Chef,  Best Restaurant 2007

           James Beard Foundation

701 St. Charles Ave. (504) 524-4114

  Warehouse District, New Orleans