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John Besh (born May 14, 1968, in Meridian, Mississippi) is an American chef, TV personality, philanthropist, restaurateur and author. He is known for his efforts in preserving the culinary heritage of New Orleans cuisine.

Biography

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Besh was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and raised in Southern Louisiana. He has been married to Jennifer Besh since 1991. Besh is a former US Marine. In 1992 he graduated from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) but his schooling was cut short due to serving time in the Gulf war.

In 2006, Besh won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef, South”. In 2008, he earned Food Arts’ Silver Spoon Award for "revitalizing the culinary legacy of New Orleans".

Restaurants

Many of his restaurants all celebrate Louisiana regional cooking, including; Restaurant August, Besh Steakhouse, Lüke, La Provence, Domenica, Pizza Domenica, Johnny Sanchez, Shaya and Borgne.

A list of Besh's restaurants include:

• August – New Orleans’ Central Business District – his flagship restaurant, featuring contemporary French cuisine with an emphasis on local ingredients. Featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants," and "America's Top 50 Restaurants."
• Besh Steak – Harrah's New Orleans Casino – steakhouse.
• Borgne – Hyatt Regency – coastal Louisiana cuisine, such as shrimp toast rissoles, oyster spaghetti and seafood stuffed flounder.
• Domenica – Roosevelt Hotel – Italian; name means “Sunday” in Italian.
• Pizza Domenica – Uptown New Orleans - A casual spinoff of Domenica featuring counter service and a great beer selection.
• La Provence – Lacombe, Louisiana – French.
• Lüke – New Orleans Central Business District and San Antonio – French, German and Creole cuisine.
• Johnny Sanchez – New Orleans Central Business District and Baltimore - Mexican-Inspired.
• Shaya – New Orleans Garden District - Modern Israeli cuisine.
• Willa Jean – The Paramount at South Market District - bakery and restaurant opening in August 2015.
• The Caribbean Room, Bayou Bar, Hot Tin, Silverwhistle Cafe – All located at the historic Pontchartrain Hotel opened summer of 2016 and represent the highest in fine dining, refined bar food, craft cocktails and palate pleasing New Orleans breakfast staples respectively.
• Eunice – “Cajun, Creole brasserie”, scheduled to opening Fall 2017 in Houston, Texas

Television appearances

• Chefs A' Field
• Iconoclasts - episode 17, broadcast November 22, 2007
• Food Network Challenge - judge
• Iron Chef America
• The Next Iron Chef - runner-Up, season 1
• Top Chef - New Orleans guest, season 5 finale
• Top Chef Masters - contestant
• Treme - self, season 1, episode 7 "Smoke My Peace Pipe"
• Inedible To Incredible - host
• Chef John Besh's Family Table - host of the 26-part cooking series (premiered in 2013)
• Hungry Investors - host
• NCIS: New Orleans - episode 22 (Help Wanted), season 2; broadcast May 3, 2016
• Chef John Besh's New Orleans – host of the 26-part cooking series (premiered in April 2011)

Cookbooks

• My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4494-0787-2.
• My New Orleans: The Cookbook: 200 of My Favorite Recipes & Stories from My Hometown, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7407-8413-2.
• Cooking From The Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way, 2013, ISBN 978-1449430566.
• Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes, September 2015, ISBN 978-1449469177.

Bibliography

• New Orleans Program: Eat, Exercise, and Enjoy Life, with David A., M.D. Newsome, 2006, ISBN 978-1-58980-344-2.
• Introduction to Military High Life. Elegant Food Histories and Recipes by Agostino Von Hassell, 2006, ISBN 978-1-931948-60-9.
• Forward to Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia, Random House, 2004

Contributions

Besh has contributed recipes or been featured in the following books:

• The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook by Mimi Luebbermann, Robert Holmes, and Dan Mills, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8118-5355-2.
• The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse, 2004, p. 786, ISBN 978-0-9704457-1-1.
• The Pleasure of Your Company: Entertaining in High Style by Kimberly Schlegel, 2004, p. 122, ISBN 978-1-58685-314-3.

References

1. ^ "Chef John Besh". New Orleans Online. New Orleans Tourism Marketing. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
2. ^ Severson, Kim (2007-10-31). "From Disaster, a Chef Forges an Empire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
3. ^ "Chef John Besh of Besh Restaurant Group". StarChefs. 2012. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
4. "Alumni, Besh, John". The Culinary Institute of America. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
5. "Besh Restaurant Group". Retrieved 2013-06-18.
6. McCarthy, Amy (2016-06-07). "New Orleans Chef John Besh Is Officially Headed To Houston". Eater Houston. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
7. Food Network: Iron Chef America, "Batali vs. Besh"
8. ^ "Press Release - John Besh's Family Table". WYES New Orleans. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
9. "John Besh's New Orleans, Series |". WYES New Orleans. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
10. "Chef John Besh's New Orleans | Cooking Shows | PBS Food". PBS Food. 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2017-01-07.

External links

• Restaurant August
• Chef John Besh

• 1968 births
• Living people
• American television chefs
• Culinary Institute of America alumni
• Writers from New Orleans
• United States Marine Corps reservists
• United States Marines
• Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni