The People's Best New Chef: Gulf Coast Contenders
At F&W, we name America’s 10 most brilliant up-and-coming chefs every year. Now we want to know who you think is the most talented new chef in America.
At F&W, we name America’s 10 most brilliant up-and-coming chefs every year. Now we want to know who you think is the most talented new chef in America.
Regions:
California, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, New York Area, Northwest & Pacific, Southeast, Southwest Gulf Coast Chefs
Photo courtesy of Restaurant Cotton
Cory Bahr
Location: Monroe, LA
Why He's Amazing: Because he's sourcing the best ingredients—from cornmeal and sweet potatoes to rabbits, venison and duck eggs—from friends and neighbors for his updated and spectacular Southern dishes.
Culinary School: Self-taught
background: Sage (/sites/default/files/onroe, LA); internships at Commander's Palace and Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse (New Orleans)
Photo © Johnny Gembitsky
Michael Doyle
Restaurant: Maurepas Foods (Read a review)
Location: New Orleans
Why He's Amazing: Because he's redefining modern Southern cooking with audacious dishes such as butternut squash with snails, pickled peanuts and spiced whiskey butter.
Culinary School: Self-taught
background: Dante's Kitchen (/sites/default/files/ew Orleans)
Photo © David G. Spielman
Juan Carlos Gonzalez
Location: New Orleans
Why He's Amazing: Because his dishes inspired by Creole and Puerto Rican street food—like shrimp-and-tasso pinchos [bar snacks]—take pub food to a new level.
Culinary School: The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)
background: Internship at Le Bernardin (/sites/default/files/ew York City); Commander's Palace, Café Adelaide (New Orleans); Bistro Alex (Houston)
Photo © Daniel Taylor Photography
Jeffrey Hansell
Restaurant: Veranda on Highland (Read a review)
Location: Birmingham, AL
Why He's Amazing: Because he's revamped the menu at a Birmingham mainstay with the kind of dishes you'd find at an amazing Southern dinner party—like fried pickles with garlic remoulade, and shrimp and grits made with local beer.
Culinary School: University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast (Long Beach, MS)
background: Commander's Palace, Lüke (/sites/default/files/ew Orleans); The Little Nell (Aspen, CO)
Photo © Romney Photography
Alex Harrell
Location: New Orleans
Why He's Amazing: Because his thoughtfully prepared gastropub menu has locals in the touristy French Quarter queuing up for a seat.
Culinary School: Self-taught
background: Mustard Seed (/sites/default/files/harleston, SC); Galatoire's, Gerard's Downtown, Martinique Bistro, Bayona (New Orleans)
Photo © Sara Essex Bradley
Phillip Lopez
Location: New Orleans
Why He's Amazing: Because he's making New American food that's unabashedly postmodern. For instance, a dish of scallops with chorizo dust and caramelized cauliflower, served in a cigar box with Cohiba smoke piped in, is an ode to his Mexican-Cuban father's leathery-smelling cigars.
Culinary School: Self-taught
background: Coastal Grill (/sites/default/files/irginia Beach), Citronelle (Washington, DC); August, Lüke, American Sector, Rambla (New Orleans)
Photo © Hector Torres
Jose Mendin
Location: Miami Beach
Why He's Amazing: Because he's revitalizing Miami Beach's Sunset Harbour neighborhood with this boisterous, Asian-inspired gastropub.
Culinary School: Johnson & Wales University (North Miami)
background: Mercadito, Nobu, Veranda (/sites/default/files/iami); SushiSamba (Las Vegas)
Chris Newsome
Restaurant: Ollie Irene (Read a review)
Location: Mountain Brook, AL
Why He's Amazing: Because he's given his hometown its first gastropub, named in honor of his home-cooking sharecropper grandmother—and it's awesome.
Culinary School: Coursework at Johnson & Wales University (Charleston, SC)
background: Bottega Café, Highlands Bar & Grill, Hot and Hot Fish Club (/sites/default/files/irmingham, AL); Pizzeria Delfina, Spruce (San Francisco); FIG (Charleston, SC)
Giorgio Rapicavoli
Restaurant: Eating House (Read a review)
Location: Coral Gables, FL
Why He's Amazing: Because he's translated his devotion to slow food, graffiti and childhood treats like Oreos into a wildly successful pop-up that's now a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
Culinary School: Coursework at Johnson & Wales University (North Miami)
background: Chispa (/sites/default/files/oral, FL), 660 at The Angler's (Miami Beach)
José Santaella
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Why He's Amazing: Because after years of working with some of the world's best European and American chefs, he's redefining cocina criolla—the cooking of his home, Puerto Rico.
Culinary School: Self-taught
background: Le Bernardin New York City); Chez Michel, Gary Danko (/sites/default/files/an Francisco)