October 10, 2015
by ChefJohn
0 comments
“One day, you’re going to be a great attorney.” “Yeah, uh, thanks, Dad.” How could I tell my attorney father that a morbidly obese cook from Opelousas, Louisiana, a man that favored sweet potatoes and pork belly over Filet Mignon, … Continue reading
July 31, 2014
by ChefJohn
0 comments
Hudson Denney has just handed me perhaps the most memorable bite of BBQ I’ve ever had. It’s beef brisket; tender as a poem by Byron, more complex than a fine Bordeaux, redolent with spice, smoke, acid, sweetness, and cherry … Continue reading
June 10, 2013
by ChefJohn
6 Comments
Our friend was leaning into our car window, grinning from ear to ear. Just a week earlier he was the winning bidder for a dinner that my wife and I donated as a fundraiser for our church. His mind … Continue reading
August 17, 2012
by ChefJohn
3 Comments
Paul Fehribach isn’t interested in coffee that comes in a can but he certainly knows how to use a coffee can. At Big Jones, his bustling Chicago homage to traditional Southern cuisine, he is recreating the type of homestead cooking … Continue reading
August 4, 2012
by ChefJohn
1 Comment
As a kid growing up in south Louisiana our little town celebrated a smoked pork sausage with a three day fair, the Andouille Festival. We would grill it, fry it, put it on a stick, toss it into jambalaya and … Continue reading
July 15, 2012
by ChefJohn
4 Comments
When we moved to Greenville in 1994 I had embraced the idea that great restaurant food should have a sense of place. In short order I ended up as Chef at a recently opened bistro that featured a New-American … Continue reading
June 15, 2012
by ChefJohn
3 Comments
“Here’s your lunch and if you’ll excuse me” I announced as I handed the paper plates to Juan and Jimmy. I was serving lunch to two professional racing drivers that I respected and admired yet at that moment I was … Continue reading
May 12, 2012
by ChefJohn
0 comments
From the Fall of 2006 It’s 7:00 a.m. on a Friday morning and I’m lying in bed watching the ceiling fan as it slowly induces in me some well-deserved motion sickness. At least I am in a very nice bed and … Continue reading
April 29, 2012
by ChefJohn
5 Comments
Back in the summer of 2001, Fox & Friends was hosting a Labor Day Cookout show and they invited three chefs to prepare outdoor recipes and somehow or another I made the cut. So I reached out to Bell & Evans Chicken … Continue reading
April 21, 2012
by ChefJohn
2 Comments
Thomas Torrey, the web and video genius for Senior Living Communities, shot this video of me hosting a Pinto Noir tasting in the dining room of my former place of employment. I loved getting out of the kitchen and doing … Continue reading