Nina Compton is a James Beard award winning
Saint Lucian chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
currently living in
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
.
Career
Nina graduated from the
Culinary Institute of America
Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...
in Hyde Park. She began her professional journey at Daniel in New York City, working and continuing her culinary education alongside world renowned chef/restaurateur
Daniel Boulud
Daniel Boulud (born 25 March 1955 in Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, the Berkshires and Dubai. He is best known for h ...
and his team.
After moving to Miami, she continued to work with the best, joining the crews of Norman Van Aken at the original/iconic Norman’s then Philippe Ruiz at Palme d’Or at the historic Biltmore Hotel. Eventually Nina moved to Casa Casuarina, a private club and boutique hotel in Miami Beach where she rose from Sous Chef to Executive Chef of the small yet highly acclaimed property.
With the excitement of the 2008 reopening of the refurbished
Fontainebleau Miami Beach
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach (also known as Fontainebleau Hotel) is a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Designed by Morris Lapidus, the luxury hotel opened in 1954. In 2007, the Fontainebleau Hotel was ranked ninety-third in the American Institute ...
, combined with the chance to work with Scott Conant at Scarpetta, Nina leapt at the chance to join the pre-opening team as Sous Chef and went on to be appointed Chef de Cuisine, where she earned raves and accolades.
Compton competed on
Season 11 of ''
Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...
''. She was the ''Top Chef'', Season 11 runner up and was voted fan favorite by viewers.
In June 2015, Compton opened her own restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, Compère Lapin.
[Compère Lapin]
serves Caribbean-style cuisine and is located in the New Orleans Central Business District
The Central Business District (CBD) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
A subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD area, its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission, are Iberville, Decatur and C ...
.
In March 2018, Compton opened Bywater American Bistro in New Orleans with Husband/Partner Larry Miller and Chef/Partner Levi Rains.
Awards
In 2017, Compton was honored with the "Best New Chef" award in Food & Wine
''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...
magazine. Her restaurant Compère Lapin was named one of America's 38 Best Restaurants by Eater
Eater may refer to:
* Eater (band), an English punk rock group
* "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself''
* ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford
* ''Eater'' (w ...
in 2017.
In 2018, Compton won the James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...
award for Best Chef: South.
Personal life
Compton is married to Larry Miller. She is the daughter of Sir John George Melvin Compton, who served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia on three occasions.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Nina
Top Chef contestants
American women restaurateurs
American restaurateurs
1978 births
Living people
Saint Lucian emigrants to the United States
American chefs
American women chefs
Naturalized citizens of the United States
James Beard Foundation Award winners
People from New Orleans
21st-century American women
Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni