Chef John Besh in Gourmet Magazine's Top 50

A Treasured honor for this hard-working New Orleans Chef

It’s been quite a year for John Besh.  The Executive Chef and Co-proprietor of Restaurant August has overcome some pretty steep obstacles trying to conduct business as usual in New Orleans; yet despite the challenges, John Besh’s Restaurant August was named to Gourmet Magazine’s Top 50 Restaurants list.  The entry is marked with a gold star, denoting Besh’s début on the prestigious list, but he is hardly new to high honors: back September 2003 – Restaurant August was listed on Gourmet’s “Guide to America’s Best Restaurants.” As stated in the magazine, “Just shy of its second birthday, Restaurant August is spoken of in the same breath as the city’s most distinguished institutions.”  His career has been rewarded with recognition from the industry, the press, and the public right along – most recently, just months ago, he won a coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef-Southeast. We like to say that these accolades speak highly about the caliber of his talent and his ability to create and present some of the best of Louisiana with his own style of cuisine… in America. 

And in addition to cooking at his acclaimed restaurant, Besh still today serves over 3,000 meals each day to the civil servants of St. Bernard Parish. Additionally, he has also been instrumental in efforts to rebuild Willie Mae’s Scotch House, one of the city’s venerated establishments in the hard-hit Tremé neighborhood. And he is tireless in his efforts to promote Louisiana seafood, and help his local farmers, fishermen, and other purveyors stay afloat as the city gets back on its feet.   

All this, and there he is in such rarified company as Chez Panisse, Le Bernardin, and The Inn at Little Washington on Gourmet’s Top 50 list.  An extra bonus for the restaurant: the only photograph on the spread is of August’s elegant white-columned, crystal-chandeliered front dining room – further enticement for the readers of Gourmet to visit New Orleans – and literally, a “Gourmet” dining experience awaits you.  

Chef John Besh has all the right ingredients for success!