John Besh (born May 14, 1968) 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
The cuisine of New Orleans encompasses common dishes and foods in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is perhaps the most distinctively recognized regional cuisine in the United States. Some of the dishes originated in New Orleans, while others are comm ...
.
Background
Besh was born in
Meridian, Mississippi, and raised in
Slidell.
He has been married to Jenifer Berrigan Besh since 1991; together they have four children.
The family are practicing
Catholics and parishioners of the St. Luke the Evangelist Church in
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Orleans− Metairie− Kenner metropolitan statistical area.
Hi ...
.
Besh is a former
US Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
.
In 1992, he graduated from
The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private culinary school with its primary campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singapore. The college, which was the firs ...
(CIA), but his schooling was cut short owing to his serving in the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
.
In 1999, ''
Food & Wine'' named Besh among the "Best New Chefs" based on his food at restaurant ''Artesia''.
John Besh was a co-owner with Octavio Mantilla of Besh Restaurant Group (BRG), the group formed after they bought out the original investors of the acclaimed restaurant ''August''.
In 2006, Besh won the
James Beard Award
The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...
for "Best Chef, South".
In 2008, he earned Food Arts' Silver Spoon Award for "revitalizing the culinary legacy of New Orleans".
Sexual misconduct controversy
In 2017, the BRG managers and owners were accused of perpetuating "a culture of
sexual harassment" and
sexual misconduct
Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...
at the restaurants, publicized by 25 current and former employees.
Besh addressed the accusations in a statement: "Two years ago, I deeply hurt those I love by thoughtlessly engaging in a consensual relationship with one member of my team. Since then I have been seeking to rebuild my marriage and come to terms with my reckless actions given the profound love I have for my wife, my boys and my
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
faith." Celebrity chef
Anthony Bourdain tweeted an image of the complaint filed against Besh's group, calling it "the beginning of the end of institutionalized Meathead Culture in the restaurant business".
Two days after the allegations were made public, Besh stepped down from BRG. BRG executive Shannon White replaced Besh as CEO of the restaurant group. BRG was renamed as ''BRG Hospitality,'' after Besh's departure.
Aftermath
In October 2017, in response to the allegations of sexual misconduct, Besh stepped down from the executive advisory board for the Center for Ethics and Culture at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
.
According to the ''
National Catholic Reporter
The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...
'', "Other Catholic entities that have been affiliated with Besh have not released statements about their future relationship".
Besh also served as a
judge (alongside fellow chef
Giada De Laurentiis
Giada Pamela De Laurentiis (; born August 22, 1970) is an Italian-American chef, writer, and television personality. She was the host of Food Network's ''Giada at Home''. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC's ...
) on an episode of the
Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...
series ''
Iron Chef Showdown
''Iron Chef Showdown'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the fourth American adaptation of the series, following ''Iron Chef USA'' and ''Iron Chef America'' and '' Iron Chef Gauntlet''. The show is prod ...
'' that was originally set to air on December 13, 2017; however, the episode got pushed back to January 10, 2018, with Besh having been digitally edited out.
Lindsey Reynolds, the former Besh Restaurant Group staff member who helped expose the company's culture of sexual harassment, is one of the people ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine named among the national
#MeToo movement as 2017's
''Time'' Person of the Year.
Restaurants
Many of his restaurants have celebrated Louisiana regional cooking, including Restaurant August, Besh Steakhouse, Lüke, La Provence, Domenica, Pizza Domenica, Johnny Sánchez, Shaya and Borgne.
The following active restaurants are associated with Besh:
* ''August'' – New Orleans'
Central Business District – his flagship restaurant, featuring contemporary
French cuisine
French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...
with an emphasis on local ingredients. Featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants" and "America's Top 50 Restaurants".
* ''Borgne'' –
Hyatt Regency
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...
– coastal Louisiana cuisine, such as shrimp toast rissoles, oyster spaghetti and seafood stuffed flounder.
*''Domenica'' –
Roosevelt Hotel – Italian; name means "Sunday" in Italian.
*''Lüke'' – New Orleans Central Business District – French, German and Creole cuisine.
*''Pizza Domenica'' –
Uptown New Orleans
Uptown is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, encompassing a number of neighborhoods (including the similarly-named and smaller Uptown area) between the French Quarter and the Jefferso ...
– A casual spinoff of Domenica.
*''Shaya'' – New Orleans Uptown – Modern
Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine ( he, המטבח הישראלי ) comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israel ...
.
*''Willa Jean'' – The Paramount at South Market District – bakery and restaurant opened in August 2015.
*''The Caribbean Room'', ''Bayou Bar'', ''Hot Tin'', ''Silverwhistle Cafe'' – All located at the historic
Pontchartrain Hotel
The Pontchartrain Hotel is a historic hotel on St. Charles Avenue in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
History
Albert Aschaffenburg Sr., a prominent New Orleans capitalist and real estate developer, planned to build the Pontchartr ...
opened summer of 2016.
*Eunice – "Cajun, Creole brasserie", opening "late Fall 2017" in Houston, Texas
The following restaurants associated with Besh are now closed or no longer feature Besh:
*''Artesia'' – was located in Abita Springs, Louisiana.
*''Besh Steak'' –
Harrah's New Orleans Casino – steakhouse. In October 2017, Harrah's announced that they would be terminating the relationship with Besh Restaurant Group (BRG) after the controversy around sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
*''La Provence'' –
Lacombe, Louisiana
Lacombe is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,679 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
Geography
Lacombe is located at (30.314863, -89.93 ...
– French, Besh sold the restaurant in May 2017; the restaurant closed in 2018.
* ''Lüke'' – San Antonio location(closed in 2017)
*''Johnny Sánchez'' ''Baltimore'' – Mexican-Inspired fare, co-owned with
Aarón Sánchez, closed in 2017.
*''Johnny Sánchez'' – located in New Orleans, Mexican-Inspired fare opened in October 2014, this was co-owned with
Aarón Sánchez. But as of February 2019 Besh is no longer involved with this restaurant, he was replaced by long time employees Miles Landrem, and Drew Mire.
Television appearances
Bibliography
Cookbooks
*''My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking'', 2011, .
*''My New Orleans: The Cookbook: 200 of My Favorite Recipes & Stories from My Hometown'', 2009, .
*''Cooking From The Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way'', 2013, .
*''Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes'', September 2015, .
Contributions
Besh has contributed writing, recipes or been featured in the following books:
* ''The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook'' by Mimi Luebbermann, Robert Holmes, and Dan Mills, 2006, .
* ''The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine'' by John D. Folse, 2004, p. 786, .
* ''The Pleasure of Your Company: Entertaining in High Style'' by Kimberly Schlegel, 2004, p. 122, .
* Introduction to ''Military High Life. Elegant Food Histories and Recipes'' by Agostino Von Hassell, 2006, .
* Forward to ''Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia'', Random House, 2004
*''New Orleans Program: Eat, Exercise, and Enjoy Life'', with David A., M.D. Newsome, 2006, .
*''Reel Masters: Chefs Casting about with Timing and Grace '',
Susan Schadt (Author) John Besh (Contribution by) John Currence (Contribution by) Kelly English (Contribution by) Chris Hastings (Contribution by) Donald Link (Contribution by) Walter Bundy (Contribution by) Kevin Willman (Contribution by) Jeremiah Bacon (Contribution by) Lisa Buser (Photographer) Peter Kaminsky (Foreword by), 2016,
References
External links
*
Restaurant August
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besh, John
1968 births
Living people
American television chefs
American male chefs
Writers from New Orleans
United States Marine Corps reservists
United States Marines
Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni
Sexual harassment in the United States
American cookbook writers
Chefs from Louisiana
Culinary Institute of America alumni
People from Meridian, Mississippi
People from Slidell, Louisiana
James Beard Foundation Award winners
Catholics from Louisiana
21st-century American non-fiction writers
Businesspeople from Louisiana
Top Chef contestants
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War
Chefs from New Orleans