Cooking Light Subscription: Chef John Besh

Chef John Besh

John Besh is chef, TV personality, philanthropist, restaurateur and author of two cookbooks: My New Orleans[1] and My Family Table.[2] Besh is the owner and executive chef at Restaurant August in New Orleans, Louisiana (twice on Gourmet Magazine’s list of Best Restaurants), and nine other restaurants including La Provence, The American Sector, Lüke (New Orleans and San Antonio), Besh Steak (located in Harrah's New Orleans Casino),[3] Domenica in the Roosevelt Hotel and newest addition Borgne located in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Besh's first solo-authored cookbook, My New Orleans: The Cookbook: 200 of My Favorite Recipes & Stories from My Hometown was published in 2009,[4] and second published in 2011, "My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking."[5]Besh was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and raised in south Louisiana. He loved to hunt and also fish. In 1986, John graduated from St. Stanislaus College High School (Bay St Louis, MS), and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a reservist. He also attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.[6] He studied at the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1992.[7] Called to active duty for 10 months in 1990 to serve in the Middle East, he was a non-commissioned officer during Operation Desert Storm,[8][9] and participated in the capture of Kuwait International Airport.