Chef Nina Compton's Culinary Journey from St. Lucia to New Orleans

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not
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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We
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should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for
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choosing W FOURCY.
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Radio, Welcome to the Connected Table, your show for introducing
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you to amazing people around the world in wine, food, spirits,
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and hospitality. We're Melanie Young and David Ransom. We love
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traveling and sharing with you our discoveries. We're excited because
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we are in our hometown, New Orleans, to introduce you
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to a chef who has a lot of acclaim many
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awards under her belt, and she's been really hard to
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nail down and really excited to have her. Today we
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are going to be talking with chef Nina Compton, whose
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restaurant here in New Orleans, Compare Lapan, is celebrating ten
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years this year. Growing up in the Caribbean island of
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Saint Lucia, chef Nina Compton developed a strong connection between
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food and community. She was drawn to the city of
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New Orleans after a guest appearance and becoming a finalist
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on Bravo Television's New Orleans Edition. I think it was
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season eleven where she was a fan favorite, and it
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is where she has chosen to settle and have her home.
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It's a great story which she shares in a new cookbook.
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It's autobiographical call Cuole Creole Recipes, Stories and teens. I
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love that from a Saint Lucian chef's journey, and she
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joins us today to share that journey on the Connected Table.
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A conton Finally and welcome.
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Good after everybody.
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I'm happy to be here in chats about all things
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food and beverage and New Orleans.
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Well, let's take it back to Saint Lucia, where David
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has been.
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It's one of the two islands I've actually been to
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in the Caribbean. Very exciting.
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You grew up in a family devoted to service. Talk
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to us about it.
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So my dad was a lawyer and eventually went into
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politics and he led said Lucia to independence in nineteen
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seventy nine from Britain we became an independent island. He
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did serve of three terms as Prime Minister and also just.
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Moving the island forward in terms.
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Of building different industries from agriculture to tourism, and it
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was a beautiful you know, my dad, he's passed away now,
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but growing up it was people was asking what was
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it like to be the prime minister's daughter. And I
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always tell people I never looked at my dad as
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the prime minister. He was always dad, And you know,
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we had so many fun memories of growing up, and
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as busy as he was, we never felt like he
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was ever absent. He was always there. So we're a
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very tight knit family. I have four siblings, so we
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had a beautiful childhood.
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You know, I love it when you write in your
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book you were you had siblings, and you sound like
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a tomboy. It sounded a very adylic lifestyle and you
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were a bit of a tomboy you had you were
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the fourth of five children. It just sounded fun. And
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you you had a grandmother who was English and you
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cooked with her. Talked to us about that.
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Yeah, So you know, I tell people the kitchen is.
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The most It's the busiest room in the house at
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any time of the day, whether it's in the morning
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or at night. It's always like a gathering place in
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our house. And my grandmother, who was a retired nurse,
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when she was getting older, she moved in with us.
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So she would wake up very.
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Early, at about five am in the morning, and she
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was left cooking and organizing for the day.
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And my mom. My grandmother was very rigid in her schedule.
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She would be up at this time, she would have
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a breakfast at this time.
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And as I got older, I wanted to help out
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because she always just seemed so busy.
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So I was very curious on what she was making
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or cooking for that day, and I wanted to be
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part of it.
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You know, in the in the cookbook, there's a recipe
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for banana tea sandwiches because there was such an abundance
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of bananas, and your grandmother was British and had her
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regular tea. We tried those. By the way, we made
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him marstache.
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How what do you think.
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I loved him really great. I like cucuver sandwiches too,
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by the way, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Those are there too. But my grandmother always had.
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A banana and she always had at her afternoon tea
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and she would just sit outside and you know, take
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it all in. So that's something that really stuck out
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as a memory, was having her eat those and have
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her tea.
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No, Nina, your family had hopes that you would go
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into I think what they called a respectable profession, but
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you always had dreams of being in the kitchen because
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you loved it so much at an early age. And
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tell us about the journey of saying I want to
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be a chef.
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How did that come about?
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Well, it's a funny story.
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So I wanted to do I would't end up in agriculture.
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That I was about sixteen, and I thought that was
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just the path for.
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Me because at that point, this was you know, Solution's
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economy was thriving, and it was supposedly and the farming
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industry was very, very big, and it just for me.
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It just made natural sense to be somehow involved in
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that field.
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And I also loved cooking, and I remember cooking Christmas
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dinner for my family because my mom and my grandmother
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and my aunts were always in that kitchen very early
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in the morning, making this big feast. Serving it and
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then cleaning up after it, just like such a you know,
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it's just a chore for them.
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And I said, I'm like, I'm going to cook the
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meal this year.
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And I remember seeing just a joy and excitement of
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my grandmother and my mom enjoying themselves and not having
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to worry about cleaning or doing anything. And I told
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my mom, I said, I think I want to be
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a chef, and she says, well, why would you want
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to do it?
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Be a chef?
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She's like, you know, the money is terrible, it's a
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lot of stress. You gotta get cuts, you gotta get
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bud And I said, I really want to do that
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because I saw how much joy mike cooking brought to you,
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and I want to share with other people. And she says, well,
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if you're really seriously to.
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Find a job.
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So that's when I got my first cooking job at
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Sandal's Thetalk, and that's why I just.
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I got visited by the bug and I haven't looked
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back since.
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How old were you when you did that first job?
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I was I was in nineteen ninety seven. I was
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seventeen or eighteen. Yeah, you were crazy.
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I was very young, and it's you know, it's one
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of those things with cooking.
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I never I never get bored with it. I'm always learning.
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You know, even though I've been doing this for almost
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those years, it's I still keep learning, i still keep traveling.
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I'm still excited about food, and the possibles are endless.
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So I think for me, it's I never see it
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as a job. I see it as something I just
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really enjoy.
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Well, yours is a journey, you know, Montego Bay, New York,
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Miami be first. You did the respectable thing. I'm sure
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your family thought and enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America.
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So you are just going willing nilly from kitchen to kitchen,
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and I'm sure that brought you structure and important management
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skills that you've applied to running restaurants.
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Right. It definitely did.
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I was actually working in Montego Bay and I had
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rotated all the kitchens, all the outlets, and I had
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told the headschef when they said, you know, I feel
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like I've hit a plateau and I'm not advancing, and
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he said, the next step that you would make sense
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is go to culinary school. He said, you can go
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to Johnson Wales or you can go to the CIA,
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and the CIA was a very It.
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Just somehow it just just sounded right, and I figured,
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why not do that?
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So getting a formal training of understanding the mother sauces
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and the knife cuts and just so many things, the
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fundamentals of cooking before actually, you know, for the next step,
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it was important to get those fundamentals down for my
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next restaurant I would work in.
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So what happened between that and getting the call for
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Tough Top Chef? You' you worked for a number of
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chefs who we've actually had on the show, including Daniel
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Ballut and Norman dan Akin and Scott Conan. We've had
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all of them on the show and we've had a
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lot of fun with them. They're great guys and obviously
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wonderful chefs and mentors to a lot.
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Tell us about your experience with them.
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So I was working at Scott Petta.
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We had just opened up that we had reopened the
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Fountain Blue, this big rollout, amazing grand opening, and we
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were very, very busy, of course, and I remember we
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didn't normally get calls to the kitchen, but somehow this
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phone call comes in hands in the phone and they
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said we want to talk to chef Meine and I
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said speaking. They said, well, we're you know, we're scouting
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for some contestants for this cooking show. We can't tell
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you the name, but we can send you the email.
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And somehow when I gave them my email, is spelled
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the name wrong, so I never got the email.
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So for a coup the.
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Days I'm checking my email, nothing pops up. I searched
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my spam, nothing comes. And they called back again, like
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a week later. They said, hey, you send it the email.
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And Rea didn't need a response, and I said, I
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never got the email.
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So they said, well, stell it again, and they.
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Sent the email and pops up and I open and
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it says confidential and.
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It says we're scouting for the next Top Chef. And
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I kind of went silent for a second because I
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was just I was very shocked. And I remember Alan
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start at the time. I said, hey, you know they've
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approached me to be to do the show.
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And he said, well, what are you going to do?
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I said I don't know. He says, well, you shuld
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definitely do it because you might win. And I said, okay,
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Well I got Scott's blessing and I told my mom,
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I said, hey, I have a chance to the show.
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And she said, I don't want you to do the show.
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It's too stressful for me. Please don't do it. I'm
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not going to watch the TV. And of course, being
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you know, listen to my mom, I said, okay, well
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maybe I.
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Should just pass.
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And then I thought about it for a couple of
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days and I said no, because I'll never get this
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chance again.
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So I said, Mom, I'm going to do the show.
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You don't have to watch it. I'm just going to
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go for it. So it was an amazing experience.
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You know, I was a physical therapy yesterday watching Top
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Chef because the episodes just keep going and going and going.
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And I said to David, while just thinking about what
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that brought you in terms of national attention, you became
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a finalist and a fan favorite, and knowing that you know,
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these reruns are just going on and on and on,
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and Theni's offices and everywhere, you know, it's incredible. Just
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it's a gift that keeps giving. And skyt conn it
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was wise, given that he's done really well in television too,
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to say do it because it really changed your life.
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Did it change your life in every level.
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I didn't realize how many people watch that show until
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the episode started airing. And there's these lifelong people that
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are very invested in this show and they're get attach
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to you over six weeks of being on television, you know,
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that same time on Bravo.
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And I think for me it was really a strange
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thing because.
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People always say, hey, once the show wraps, your life
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will change.
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And I figured it was the finale, aid.
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I would be getting all these phone calls, do this,
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do that, And for a couple of months nothing, I
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wouldn't an emails, any phone calls, and I said, well,
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maybe maybe I'm not going to get this big explosion
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of office. And I would say it was about June
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when I just started getting all these invites.
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Can you cook in La, can you cook in Toronto?
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Can you do this? Can you do that?
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And it got really crazy because I was traveling a lot,
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I was running away. I was having a great time,
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and you know it was hard for him to juggle
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having the job.
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Working for Scott and doing all this travel.
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And I said, this is something I want to enjoy,
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and I want to enjoy to the fullest. So I
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told Scott, I think this is time for me to
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move on. I didn't have a planet at the time,
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but I wanted to just take a break to see
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what the next chapter is and I wanted to think
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it through. So I took a couple of months off,
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and people were, you know, asking me and my husband
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to open a restaurant in New York or Chicago, La, Boston.
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And nothing really felt right until we went to call
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to the New Orleans restaurant. And I told my husband
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when we were flying to New Orleans, I said, you know,
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I don't know how this is going to go because
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we've had so many interviews with so many people and
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that nothing really spoke to us. And I remember we
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walked into the space, which is under construction. It was
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a complete mess. We walked in, we walked around, and we.
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Walked out, and we both said, that's a restaurant.
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We want to go with this one and comparison in
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ten in ten on a last on Monday.
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So when you see that, time goes by so quickly.
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But opening a restaurant and yours was never If you
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told me.
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This fifteen years ago, I.
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Would have said it wouldn't happen, because it was just
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so unbelievable.
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You know, it opened to a very big buzz by
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the way, because I remember that and I remember it.
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It just took off and it's still taking off. I mean,
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it's fabulous. We recently dined there and you're doing a
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no for your anniversary that all hits. We had the
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very famous goat your curry goat with sweet potato and yaki.
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I have to tell you, Nina, I was brought up
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never date Friday anything because I had weight conscious mom
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and grandmother. But your your jerk chicken. Yeah, oh honey,
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I was just like I.
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Couldn't it was yeah, I mean, who doesn't chicken with grits?
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You know, it's a fabulous.
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I can't think of one person. And we certainly loved it,
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that's for sure. It was a total surprise.
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Us, total surprise. I was thinking about it today actually
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as I was walking back from exercising, and uh, the
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green Papa Is salad was just beautiful. I mean every
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dish was just spot on. So you know, ten years
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is a long lifetime for a restaurant. Your husband is
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Larry Miller. He's in the busy's your partner. He's also
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a restaurant consultant New Orleans, is you know, an easy
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place to have a restaurant a hard place to have
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a restaurant? What have you learned? Well, first of all,
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what is it about New Orleans that drew you here?
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Because we have chosen New Orleans as our home as well,
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so talk to us about that because we want people
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watching and listening to love New Orleans like you and
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I do.
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Yeah, well, I think that the.
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Reason why I moved is because it's for the people.
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I think people here are really beautiful. They're very friendly, welcoming.
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When we were opening the restaurants, we wanted to kind of.
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Stay under the radar and quietly open.
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It didn't happen that way because when we moved to
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your Ands, it was in the newspaper. People were buzzing,
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and people would stop us in the grocery store and
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they'd say, thank you so much for moving here.
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We're so excited.
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And it was very intimidating because he also is such
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a big food city and there's lots of culture and
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amazing restaurants, and here we are opening up a restaurant
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and we didn't know how it was.
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Going to be received.
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But the people and their excitement of this new restaurant coming.
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It brought me so much yours a chef, because people
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are excited about through their adventurous they want to know
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and they want to share their favorite restaurants with you.
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So it's a really giving culture.
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And we felt like we welcome right away. We didn't
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feel like an outside of people who are just very
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happy to have us and to open a restaurant.
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So it's really the people that made us want a movie.
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People here are pretty happy. We love it when they
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say welcome home.
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Yeah, they really are. And you know it's they're exciting
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about food.
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So for me, it makes my job so much easier
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as a chef because people just love to eat.
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So I'm ten years congratulations, And how do you keep
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things fresh? What are you know? A lot of people
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who are maybe listening and watching, maybe dreaming of opening
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a restaurant. It's not easy. We know it's sunny easy.
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We know summer is dudley everywhere, particularly New Orleans. Come
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to New Orleans in the summer, it's awesome. What is
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some advice that you would give other people or your
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younger self, because also achieving fame early on and juggling.
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That is hard.
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It is the industry is definitely it's a it's a
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tough one.
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But you know, I think what people don't focus on
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having a restaurant, it's a business. You know, we are created,
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We are making a beautiful food and beverage and creating experience.
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But it's a business. It's a business first, and.
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I think it's a lot of people kind of put
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that secondary.
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But it is a business first. But I think for
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me as a if I told my younger self.
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Maybe to slow down a little bit, and I think
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saying the power of having the power.
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Of no would have been helpful for me because I
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always said yes to.
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Everything and everybody, and then before I know it, my
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calendar is filled and I'm doing interviews or a cooking
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class or something else and not taking time.
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For myself to recharge my batteries.
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And I think that's something that now, you know, ten
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years in, I just start to say, I.
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Don't have to do everything. I don't have to do
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all of these things.
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Being at the most selective and trying to preserve my
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energy in my life so I could be the best
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boss to my staff, I think is really important.
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You know, it's a long day to begin with, and
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when you start adding things on top of all those
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long days, it does take.
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Its toll, that's for sure. It does, you know, Nina,
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Let's talk about the book that just came out. It's
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called Creole Creole Cooking and Recipes and Stories and teens
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from Saint Lucian Chef's Journey. So let's talk about the book.
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It's a great book. We've gone through it. We've had
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a couple of recipes in it.
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Starting I've been.
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I've been to Saint Lucis. I was there.
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I was there a long time ago in nineteen eighty eight,
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and I had a great time there and spent a
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week on the island with my girlfriend.
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Sorry Melanie, it wasn't you, But.
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I was at Jamaica with a boyfriend.
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Yeah, but I adore Saint Lucia.
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It's a beautiful island and it has a lot going on.
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00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.759
So let's talk about the cookbook, which is an ode
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to that.
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Yeah.
395
00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:13.920
Well, I you know, I had been approached to a
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00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:19.200
cookbook after I did Top Chef, and I started writing
397
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the proposal, and then of course I got busy trying
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to open up the restaurant and move to New Orleans,
399
00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.400
I kind of put that on holds a little bit.
400
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But once the pandemic.
401
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Hit, I said, hey, this thing is going to be
402
00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:33.839
around for a little bit.
403
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You know.
404
00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.160
COVID was kind of a little bit of a big
405
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ripple for the.
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Restaurant industry, so we had to pivot a lot, and
407
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I said, you know, maybe this is time to pick
408
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:44.039
up the book again.
409
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So I got to work with me on a project.
410
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Who did I think a really beautiful job of.
411
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Extracting the stories from my brain as a chef. You know,
412
00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:00.559
I think we're very straight to the point that says, no,
413
00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:02.799
if we need to put a little more in the
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00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:06.839
headnote about these recipes. So it was really about documenting
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Caribbean also Creole culture throughout different areas, studying in Selution, Jamaica, Miami,
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and then ending up in the Orleans. So it's really
417
00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:19.839
about the journey of the different Creole cultures through food
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and beverage and kind of my journey of as a chef,
419
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starting in your in Solution Sorry, and then you know,
420
00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.440
book ending in New Orleans.
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00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:33.799
There is a lot of storytelling in the book as
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well as recipes. The cover just so you know, the
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00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.119
co author is Osaii Endoline, who is a historical food
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writer and cultural food writer of significant note. The photos
425
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are great. This is a photo of Aki Fritters, right.
426
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.319
No, this is a Dachine balls.
427
00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:50.960
Oh Daschine balls. Okay, that's right. The as have a
428
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different shape. There's some terrific photography in here. Who did
429
00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:54.680
the photography?
430
00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:57.880
So we had Brittany Connolly who did the who did
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the cover and the We also had Cassimo Harris heeded
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00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:06.640
the lifestyle images. So I think we had a very
433
00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:12.319
powerful team that really understood my voice and my vision.
434
00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:14.559
I did tell Brittany that I wanted to make this
435
00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:18.799
book really beautiful and bright and tropical and make people
436
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want to go to the Caribbean after reading the book,
437
00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:26.960
and Osai, you know, award winning writer who's done some
438
00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:31.000
really beautiful ways of crafting my voice in the book
439
00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:31.599
as well.
440
00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:33.599
So I think it's I'm very proud of it. It's
441
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:34.279
a lot of work.
442
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.480
I think a lot of people think that a book
443
00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:38.240
is done in a couple of months. This took us
444
00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:41.400
three and a half years, and we wanted to take
445
00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:43.599
our time with it. We didn't want to rush and
446
00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.079
put out a book because this is something that's out
447
00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:47.839
in the world and I can't take it back.
448
00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:50.279
So I wanted to make sure that everything was very thoughtful.
449
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.920
Well, a lot of these issues are quite beautiful. That
450
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.880
we had a chef over for dinner who's from Mauritius,
451
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Dominique McKay, also a chef of note here in New Orleans,
452
00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:02.240
and he was thumbing through the book going wow, this
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00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:05.640
reminds me of home growing up Immita. He was very
454
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touched by it. You know, one of the dishes, because
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00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:10.720
I love vegetables, is the cola loup because it's not
456
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all difficult. Some of these are very easy to do
457
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and you can do this with almost any greens. But
458
00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:21.000
it's everything from fish to the Acki fritters to grilled lobster.
459
00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:22.759
I wish we've got more lobster in New Orleans.
460
00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:25.200
Yeah.
461
00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:28.599
Yeah, what dishes in here and taking it back to
462
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:30.759
compare Lapan, what are some that are similar to what
463
00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.599
you would find it Compare Lapan. I also want to
464
00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:34.799
bring comparil the pan back in for a couple of reasons.
465
00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.000
Yeah, let's bridge that.
466
00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:40.160
Yeah, so we have, of course the minimal biscuits, so
467
00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:42.119
people go crazy for.
468
00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:44.079
Yeah.
469
00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:46.920
So we have that in the in the recipe, we
470
00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.079
also have the hushpuppies, which is a big one. Then
471
00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:51.880
we have the shallow tell you that, the shrimp, and
472
00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:55.720
the run down sauce. So there's there's some recipes that over.
473
00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:00.359
The years we've had a compella.
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00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:03.319
And so I'm just trying to document the recipes and
475
00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:04.440
the home cook and do at.
476
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:06.799
Home and really have fun with it. You know.
477
00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:09.440
I think that the book is there are some very
478
00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:12.480
simple recipes, but there are some labor intensive recipes.
479
00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:14.720
But I think it's worth it.
480
00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:16.920
It's worth to put a little elbow grease into that
481
00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:19.119
recipe because the payoff is so wonderful.
482
00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:22.319
The biscuits, I'm going to try it. And we had
483
00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:24.799
the biscuits and the hushpuppies when we dined at Comparel
484
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.599
the Pan and they're both fabulous. I'm a biscuit freak
485
00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:29.400
and they were fabulous. The first thing I do when
486
00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:31.599
I eat discus a smell it, and I was like
487
00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:33.799
shoving it. David smelled his biscuit. It smells like a
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00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.279
real biscuit, and I feel it. I mean, it's it's
489
00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:38.920
a whole process with me when I eat it there
490
00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:42.519
and they serve with this beautiful you know, pillow of butter.
491
00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:48.240
It's beautiful. So why compare Lapan. Let's just talk about
492
00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:51.519
the name, because it's Wilapan means rabbit. Talk about how
493
00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.799
the name came about, so that.
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00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:57.039
The folk tale colla bed, which is.
495
00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.640
An Africa the tail that we had this same book
496
00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:04.720
as a child growing up. And when I was moving
497
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:08.079
here to do a restaurant, I wrote all these these
498
00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:12.119
names in Patua and I was just googling one day
499
00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:17.759
of you know, Patwa names in Louisiana, and that same
500
00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:20.160
book popped up and I said, wow, this is so
501
00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:23.519
crazy because a lot of people don't know that actual
502
00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:25.039
story as a folk tale.
503
00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:28.400
And I said, this is this is it. This is
504
00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:30.279
a childhood story that.
505
00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:32.920
I know, and it's you know, now we have it
506
00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.599
here in Louisiana. So that made sense for me to
507
00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:36.720
bridge the gap.
508
00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:40.039
M it is that brother rabbit or different?
509
00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:41.240
Yeah, brother rabbit?
510
00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:43.839
Yeah, okay, okay, I know that's it's that's interesting. If
511
00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:45.640
you go to the restaurant, there's rabbits everywhere.
512
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:49.640
Oh yeah, we have we have a lot of rabbits.
513
00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:54.559
And it's we've had rabbit on the.
514
00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:57.680
Many ones yeah, okay, because I think a lot of
515
00:25:57.720 --> 00:26:02.279
people they always do with a you know, fuzzy little bunny,
516
00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:03.279
so we try them.
517
00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:08.000
To that's pretty funny. So, you know, the Hope the
518
00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:11.799
restaurant which you and Larry own is located in a
519
00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.160
terrific hotel. A friend of mine just stayed there, just
520
00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:17.319
raved about it. It's called the Old Number seventy seven
521
00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:20.880
Hotel and Chanlery. It's in the Warehouse District, the Arts
522
00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:23.960
District's a great location and there's a wonderful art exhibit.
523
00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:26.079
If you walk to go to the ladies room and
524
00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.799
to the lobby, there's a terrific art exhibit that we
525
00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:32.759
kind of traverse through. But I understand that hotel is
526
00:26:32.839 --> 00:26:37.000
also having a big anniversary as well, so that's exciting.
527
00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:41.079
Yes, yes, So it's a lot of a lot of
528
00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:44.440
milestones this year. And you know, we were part of
529
00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:48.720
the opening when they readd the hotel in twenty fifteen,
530
00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:53.079
so it's been an exciting time celebrating the restaurant and
531
00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:54.039
the hotel as well.
532
00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:54.799
Well.
533
00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:57.680
We recommend both when we have we have this a glist.
534
00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:00.839
You know, everybody wants a where to go, we always
535
00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:04.079
say stay here, go there, and it's a great location
536
00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:05.440
for many other things as well.
537
00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:07.720
Yes, absolutely, yeah.
538
00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:10.400
So you say on the website for compare the pan
539
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:14.920
meals aren't about trends, shock value, or opulence. Thank you
540
00:27:16.119 --> 00:27:18.640
meals are about moments, memories and those who surround you
541
00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:21.200
at the table. Talk to us about that philosophy, because
542
00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:24.440
we have been to a few restaurants where there was
543
00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:28.880
all it was all shock value, including the shock Well,
544
00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:29.839
I think.
545
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:33.160
For us, you know, people are dining out more and more,
546
00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:38.119
of course, say twenty years ago. So one of the
547
00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:40.319
things we always tell us that is like, listen, people
548
00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:43.039
have options. They don't have to come to our restaurant,
549
00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:44.440
They could go somewhere else.
550
00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:48.519
But when they do, they're making a conscious.
551
00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:50.640
Decision to dine with us, and we need to make
552
00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:55.359
sure that we exceed their expectations and create a moment
553
00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:58.720
and a memory. It's not just about a transaction of
554
00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:01.759
eating food and drinking a glass of wine and paying
555
00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:06.240
us about connecting people through food and experience the music
556
00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:09.160
in the restaurants. So we're trying to create something where
557
00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:12.599
it's like people want to come back because they felt welcome,
558
00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:15.680
they had a good time, they enjoyed themselves and they
559
00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:17.599
want to make this a regular place to come.
560
00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:21.519
I think that's important. You know, one of the people
561
00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:25.279
who you worked with early on, Daniel Blue always asked
562
00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:28.279
a similar Someone asked him at a city Meals and
563
00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:32.039
Wheels event, why are you in this business? And you
564
00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:36.599
can answer that a million ways, he said, I want
565
00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:37.359
to serve people.
566
00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:39.960
Oh, that's that's the best way.
567
00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:43.400
I think a lot of people just want to again
568
00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.279
create an experience for and a memory for people.
569
00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:50.279
We're not doing it again. I think we are creative,
570
00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:55.200
we're passionate people, chefs, and we want.
571
00:28:55.079 --> 00:29:00.319
To share you know, connected people. It's not we don't
572
00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:06.000
have a glass between us. We're you know, touching, feeling, smelling,
573
00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:09.319
and we want to have that nostalgia every single time.
574
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.359
And we do that through food.
575
00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:15.440
It's a connector. That's what we called our our show,
576
00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:19.279
the Connected Table, for the same reason you know it
577
00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:22.680
really is. Food is a cultural connection, it's a social connection.
578
00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:25.720
It can lift you up, it can bring people together
579
00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:28.319
in terms of happiness, celebration, and also in grief.
580
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:32.720
Yeah, I agree, and.
581
00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:34.000
It all requires teamwork.
582
00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:35.720
Yeah, you have a great team. By the way, we
583
00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:38.480
sat down with who sat down with Corey?
584
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:43.400
Great? No it's really about you know, it's not just
585
00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:47.960
about the food. It's also about the service, you know,
586
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.519
connecting with people.
587
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:52.960
And asking them, you know, where are you from? And
588
00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:57.440
you find so many people from all over the city
589
00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:00.440
coming in and they could be either hair frock engine,
590
00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:04.319
or they could be coming because the birthday, or they're
591
00:30:04.359 --> 00:30:07.200
just here or whatever it is. But we always make
592
00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:10.480
sure that you know it is. I always tell my
593
00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:13.920
staff that nobody's job is less important than.
594
00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:16.799
Joe's job or Tom's job.
595
00:30:17.240 --> 00:30:20.119
You know, everybody has a very important role to play,
596
00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:24.839
so the bartender, the hostess, the server, the general manager,
597
00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:27.200
they have a very important role too.
598
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:31.079
So we never minimize anybody's role being less.
599
00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:36.440
Everybody we treat with the most important because everybody is important.
600
00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:41.000
It's a great philosophy. So Corey was is your manager
601
00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:44.240
and we were enamored by the winelesst The cocktail was too,
602
00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:47.119
which is terrific. But the Wineless was well thought out
603
00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:49.480
and we had a long discussion with him about that
604
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:52.400
because there were some selections on there. It was it
605
00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:56.920
was a step above many of the Wineless in New Orleans. Yeah,
606
00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:59.279
not to not wineless in New Orleans, but there is
607
00:30:59.359 --> 00:30:59.960
a step above.
608
00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:00.759
Fact.
609
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:02.039
Hart does a great job.
610
00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:06.079
He's very, very excited about wine and beverage, and.
611
00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:09.000
You know, he gets very he has a twinkle in
612
00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:09.680
his eye when.
613
00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:14.519
He talks about wines, so it certainly does yeah well.
614
00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:16.119
And one of the things he said was that, you know,
615
00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:19.039
it's not the easiest cuisine to pair wine with because
616
00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:22.880
there's a lot of spices involved and flavors that aren't
617
00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:26.720
normally associated with wine. So he says it's a lot
618
00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:28.720
of work for him, but he loves the challenge as
619
00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:30.640
well to create that paring.
620
00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:32.920
Nina, let's talk.
621
00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:35.480
About community service. So you've been called on to appear
622
00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:38.599
and do and it's hard to pick and choose, but
623
00:31:38.680 --> 00:31:43.880
are there certain charities or philanthropic causes that you're committed
624
00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:46.599
to and tell us about that aspect of your life,
625
00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:48.119
because that's important.
626
00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:49.240
You know, it definitely is.
627
00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:53.400
I think in Ulans, the outreach and what people do
628
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:56.519
with the community, all the foundations, it's just.
629
00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:59.759
An easy extension for the restaurant.
630
00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:03.200
So we do partner with some of the Saints to
631
00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:06.480
do a lot of their their programs. You know, we
632
00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:11.440
did we do their Christmas Dinner every every every December.
633
00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:13.839
We cook for the boys, and you know, we've done
634
00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:17.480
cooking classes for the boys. So just giving back in
635
00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:21.440
whatever capacity through maybe roots of music. We do a
636
00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:24.039
lot of stuff with the Link Foundation as well, so
637
00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:28.079
there's a lot of that in you but we also
638
00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:31.000
do some national stuff like Alexis Lemonade is a big
639
00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:35.119
one that we partner with. Also Sudden Smoke, which is
640
00:32:35.240 --> 00:32:37.480
very near and dear to our heart because it's a
641
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.640
foundation that is focused on hospitality workers and giving them
642
00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:48.839
access to healthcare, counseling money if there's a natural disaster.
643
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:51.759
So that's that's one I think that's very important. So
644
00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:56.160
we lend our voice to whatever charity that really speaks
645
00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:57.000
to our hearts.
646
00:32:58.519 --> 00:33:00.960
I think that's terrific for those listening who are not
647
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:03.599
from New Orleans. What is Son of a Saint?
648
00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:07.920
So some of the thing is a foundation that helps it.
649
00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:12.039
It's basically a mentorship program that takes boys at a
650
00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:12.839
very young age.
651
00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:15.000
I think the starting age is I want.
652
00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:19.440
To say five, and they're young boys that don't have
653
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.240
a father.
654
00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:22.640
Figure in their life.
655
00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:26.119
So they're paired with a mentor to help guide them
656
00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:29.160
in those young stages when they need the father the most.
657
00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:32.920
So things like taking them to sports, or how to
658
00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:35.839
do it, to tie a tie for the first time,
659
00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:39.400
all of those things, taking them to sports events. I
660
00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:42.400
think that's a very important thing for a child that
661
00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:43.880
needs that extra supports.
662
00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:50.319
It is important and mentorship is critical for building confidence
663
00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:52.160
and self esteem at a time when a lot of
664
00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:55.920
young people are feeling fragile for whatever reason. I mean,
665
00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:59.160
maybe they turn on the news, maybe they live, you know,
666
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:02.839
with the fear of climate change. You know, we we
667
00:34:02.920 --> 00:34:07.960
live in the heart of hurricane season and it which
668
00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:12.920
has started, and it's top of mind all the time.
669
00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:17.800
And you know, we've learned to live each day the
670
00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:20.840
best we can and just be prepared. How do you
671
00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:26.719
reconcile that in your life as you have settled here
672
00:34:26.760 --> 00:34:30.639
but also have traveled and you know, done some wonderful
673
00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:32.320
things to help others who've been impacted.
674
00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:36.440
Yeah, I mean hurricanes are definitely that's a hard one.
675
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:42.679
And when you see climate change, it's nobody is really safe,
676
00:34:43.719 --> 00:34:48.360
whether it's a hurricane, whether it's a tornadoes, whether it's
677
00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:50.840
just you know, flash flooding. I think that we're all,
678
00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:55.199
you know, prone to some kind of disaster, but it's
679
00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:59.760
it's I think as a chef you definitely immediately.
680
00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:02.880
Jump into help. I think that's just something that.
681
00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:05.800
The chess do is if there's a you know, cooking
682
00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:09.320
for the people that had the fires in LA. We're
683
00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:11.800
on the front lines and we donated what we can,
684
00:35:11.880 --> 00:35:15.760
whether it's time, whether it's food, just should give you know,
685
00:35:15.920 --> 00:35:18.960
a voice and shine a light on the people that
686
00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:22.079
I need. And you look at people like Jose Andres
687
00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:26.880
that does an amazing job of really showing this disaster
688
00:35:26.920 --> 00:35:29.679
to happen and how we're going to move forward, and
689
00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:34.519
that's through fust feeding people and bring them some comfort.
690
00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:39.280
You know, chefs have long been first responders that are
691
00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:43.039
that do this voluntarily. They're not paid. When we lived
692
00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:44.920
in New York, you know, or when I was living
693
00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:46.920
in New York during September eleventh, I was in the
694
00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:52.360
heartbeat of all that working to mobilize restaurants, and we
695
00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:55.760
did so many amazing things, and I think people underestimate
696
00:35:55.880 --> 00:35:59.639
or overlook that, and I think it's actually frankly important
697
00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:02.079
when people will make restaurant decisions. I mean, I look at,
698
00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:05.559
you know, when we travel interestingly mean, and when we travel,
699
00:36:05.559 --> 00:36:07.400
we don't always look for the newest and the hottest
700
00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:12.599
and the latest anymore. We look for the most caring. Yeah,
701
00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:14.639
And I think that's really important. We look at a
702
00:36:14.679 --> 00:36:17.320
lot of things about when we because it is you
703
00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:19.000
when you go out and spend your money dining. You
704
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:22.079
want to go where there's a wonderful food and hospitality,
705
00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:23.360
but you also want to know that this is a
706
00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:27.679
caring restaurant that people respect the owner and the chef. Uh.
707
00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:30.840
And that's really important, and I think people should take
708
00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:32.360
that into consideration, don't you.
709
00:36:33.559 --> 00:36:34.119
I think so.
710
00:36:34.199 --> 00:36:37.840
I think it's really about what what what is that
711
00:36:37.960 --> 00:36:44.400
operation doing? And I think it's very important because we
712
00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:47.440
all need each other in some way or some form.
713
00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:50.199
And I am definitely a creature of habit when I
714
00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:52.880
go out because I again, I.
715
00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:55.840
Don't try the newest restaurants. I just like my oldies
716
00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:58.079
and my goodies. Then I know what I'm going to
717
00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:00.639
get and I just you know, I think for me,
718
00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:04.039
as I get you know, older, I look at things.
719
00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:06.400
Where I just want to have a place where I
720
00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:10.639
know the people, I know what I'm gonna eat and drink,
721
00:37:10.679 --> 00:37:11.679
and I know it's going to be.
722
00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:14.679
Really good and I leave happy.
723
00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:18.119
So you know, we're dying to ask you, uh, tell
724
00:37:18.199 --> 00:37:20.119
us some of your hidden gems where you like to
725
00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:22.119
go as a local in New Orleans. I mean we
726
00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:24.199
have our little favorite crisis, where about you?
727
00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:29.360
I mean there's so many. Definitely for me, I would
728
00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:32.400
say Queen Trinny when I.
729
00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:36.880
Yeah, you know Queen Towny Lisa, we've not been to yet.
730
00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:41.119
It's Haitian inspired and I think it's another woman owner.
731
00:37:42.280 --> 00:37:44.079
Yes, so Charlie.
732
00:37:43.719 --> 00:37:46.719
Who has free type beautiful Haitian food. And then Queen
733
00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:51.440
Trinny has Trinidadian foods. So when I want my fix,
734
00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:56.599
I definitely go there. Also, Addisonola, the Ethiopian restaurant has
735
00:37:56.719 --> 00:38:00.960
amazing food and dads do us a great job. You know,
736
00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:04.639
it's a it's a son and mother that run the operation,
737
00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:11.639
and they talk so deeply and fondly of their coffee ceremony,
738
00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:14.280
which is something that you know, you don't really see.
739
00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:17.519
So I think that's definitely. There's just so many people
740
00:38:17.599 --> 00:38:18.320
and where do you go?
741
00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:21.679
And it's I get stumped, and I have to answer
742
00:38:21.719 --> 00:38:23.840
that in Abu Al because I have to go down
743
00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:29.400
the list of so many places. Also, Pesh amazing seafood.
744
00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:32.400
Is really great, and it's just just so many.
745
00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:35.119
You know, it's so true. There are so many and
746
00:38:35.239 --> 00:38:37.639
and hoddest illness when we actually we've been to for
747
00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:40.000
charity events, we actually haven't been and just made a
748
00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:43.360
mental note, particularly when you say coffee ceremony. You know,
749
00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:46.159
I think for everyone listening and watching, New Orleans is
750
00:38:46.280 --> 00:38:49.639
really a melting pot of so many magazines, which is
751
00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:52.719
why I think it's really one of the top restaurant
752
00:38:52.800 --> 00:38:55.199
cities in the United States. And we lived in New
753
00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:58.079
York for many, many years. Gosh, it is fabulous. You
754
00:38:58.119 --> 00:39:01.360
can get anything there. But you know, New Orleans, with
755
00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:04.199
the exception of main Lobster I'm still looking for. You
756
00:39:04.280 --> 00:39:07.920
can get a lot of amazing things. And the Caribbean
757
00:39:08.159 --> 00:39:13.840
and African inspiration and influence is so strong here and
758
00:39:14.039 --> 00:39:17.320
unlike many other places, maybe Charleston to a bit, but
759
00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:19.719
that's what is exciting and that's what we love about.
760
00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:23.599
Compare Lapad. You get that feel when you dine there.
761
00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:27.199
Well, I definitely think you know, over the ten years
762
00:39:27.199 --> 00:39:30.280
of us living in the city, we've seen the culinary
763
00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:33.039
landscape change and be more diverse.
764
00:39:34.519 --> 00:39:37.840
There's, just like you said, every cuisine you could name
765
00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:38.039
of it.
766
00:39:38.239 --> 00:39:43.000
Each year, another new restaurant comes along, bringing a different cuisine,
767
00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:47.559
so we are really fortunate to have that, and you know,
768
00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:51.159
I think the chefs and the operators are really pushing it,
769
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:56.320
you know, like restaurants like Saffron amazing, amazing food and
770
00:39:56.360 --> 00:39:59.639
I love Indian foods. So there's just so much going on,
771
00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:02.039
you know, over the ten years, and I'm sure it's
772
00:40:02.039 --> 00:40:03.960
just going to get even even even broader.
773
00:40:04.760 --> 00:40:06.960
I hope, so, I hope so too. Meanwhile, we love
774
00:40:06.960 --> 00:40:09.559
that people swoon over curry goat, which a lot of
775
00:40:09.559 --> 00:40:11.599
people think, oh, I we'd never eat goat, but we
776
00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:14.079
ordered it and it was swoon worthy. It was Is
777
00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:16.159
that Is that one of your standout dishes or the
778
00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:17.840
ones you can't sing off the menu?
779
00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:21.239
That is definitely the one that cannot come off the menu.
780
00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:25.440
I don't know that that jerk fried chickens pretty up
781
00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:26.000
there too.
782
00:40:26.199 --> 00:40:28.079
I know, I know that's a tough one. So that's
783
00:40:28.199 --> 00:40:29.119
that's a close second.
784
00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:32.159
Yeah, yeah, and the biscuits and the hush puppies.
785
00:40:32.280 --> 00:40:35.280
You know, it's interesting because I heard we think of
786
00:40:35.320 --> 00:40:37.679
it as a as a delicacy because curried goat isn't
787
00:40:37.719 --> 00:40:41.840
really very utilized in the United States, or goat isn't
788
00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:43.679
very utilized in the United States, but it's it's a
789
00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:45.719
worldwide big cellar.
790
00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:48.320
Yeah, it's it's one of the most popular meat dishes.
791
00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:54.920
Yeah yeah, So what's ahead for you? What's the hell.
792
00:40:56.360 --> 00:41:00.559
Ahead for by? Is really taking a deep dive into
793
00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:04.039
Caribbean food a little bit more.
794
00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:08.679
I want to travel and see different islands and really
795
00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:10.199
submerge myself.
796
00:41:11.679 --> 00:41:13.239
And basically bring.
797
00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:18.000
Recipes that all the people don't know about from islands
798
00:41:18.039 --> 00:41:23.159
such as Trinidad or Dominica, just not the usual suspects.
799
00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:25.960
I want to bring something where it's like, hey, this
800
00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:29.199
region in I don't know Dominica, they do beautiful smoke
801
00:41:29.280 --> 00:41:31.039
meats and showcase those things.
802
00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:32.920
So I really want to take a deeper dive.
803
00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:36.639
As I look at the restaurant turning ten, what is
804
00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:37.920
the next chap to look like?
805
00:41:38.039 --> 00:41:40.599
And I think that is something that's really really important
806
00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:43.199
to me in doing that.
807
00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:47.199
It's important because the restaurant landscape and the dining landscape
808
00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:49.800
and the drinking landscape has changed quite a bit, and
809
00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:54.400
you have to facor that in without losing control of
810
00:41:54.440 --> 00:41:56.840
what you want to do, but also understanding that your
811
00:41:56.840 --> 00:41:59.320
customer is changing and we all have read and heard
812
00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:03.480
everything you know, so being sensitive to that as well,
813
00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:06.679
and also economy too. The good thing is you can
814
00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:10.840
take simple ingredients and use wonderful spices and ways of
815
00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:12.960
cooking them to make them. You know, as you say,
816
00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:15.599
it's not about shock value or opulence. I don't think
817
00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:18.639
we'll ever see lots of foam or you know, frozen
818
00:42:19.320 --> 00:42:21.760
co two on your menu. It's like it's home cooking
819
00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:25.199
and this is what you would eat at home, right.
820
00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:28.519
Right, And I think that is also something that is
821
00:42:28.920 --> 00:42:32.320
what I love about neons. It's not about the fruit,
822
00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:37.320
fruit stuff. It's about soul satisfying food. So we don't
823
00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:41.559
see the foams and we don't see the deconstructed things
824
00:42:42.159 --> 00:42:44.679
because it just doesn't we're.
825
00:42:44.440 --> 00:42:45.039
Not about that.
826
00:42:45.159 --> 00:42:48.679
Here, we were in Italy in somebody's surface. Are you
827
00:42:48.760 --> 00:42:52.239
ready deconstructed pizza like a splat of it in a
828
00:42:52.280 --> 00:42:55.599
pizza box? Isn't that weird? Yeah? And we had a
829
00:42:55.639 --> 00:42:58.320
lot of food and we love brace.
830
00:42:59.639 --> 00:43:00.840
That's a little strange.
831
00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:04.199
It was. It brings up there, It really was, but
832
00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:08.920
it was called unlike your culinary journey, ours was a
833
00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:11.519
journey no menus, don't ask questions and we were like,
834
00:43:11.519 --> 00:43:12.039
what is this?
835
00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:13.519
Wow?
836
00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:18.599
It was, but you know, to each their own. I
837
00:43:18.599 --> 00:43:21.119
mean that's why we did enjoy and do enjoy visiting
838
00:43:21.119 --> 00:43:23.519
compare Lopan and recommend it because you'll have food that
839
00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:26.000
when you see it, you'll understand it and it's very
840
00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:28.800
flavorful and you're kind going to go, what is this?
841
00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:32.199
It's it's good. It's really good. We took on the
842
00:43:32.280 --> 00:43:34.239
leftovers and had the next day because it's also very
843
00:43:34.280 --> 00:43:38.960
generous and it was really horrific. So again we're talking
844
00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:42.239
with Nina Compton, who has won many awards. You know,
845
00:43:42.400 --> 00:43:45.679
we have a history with the James Spread Awards. Congratulations
846
00:43:45.719 --> 00:43:49.239
on that. I hold awards here's awesome. I know TV
847
00:43:49.440 --> 00:43:51.800
is amazing, but in the day, it's what you deliver
848
00:43:51.920 --> 00:43:54.480
out of the kitchen and into your level of hospitality
849
00:43:54.760 --> 00:43:56.440
that matters more than anything. And I think that's an
850
00:43:56.440 --> 00:43:59.840
important way to leave as a final message to people,
851
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:03.400
particularly when inspiring to have a career, that it's not
852
00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:09.000
about awards or the contestants and fame. It's about something more.
853
00:44:09.079 --> 00:44:12.280
So leave us with that thought, Nina. For the person
854
00:44:12.280 --> 00:44:13.679
out there who may be saying.
855
00:44:13.480 --> 00:44:17.360
I want to be like Nina Compton, I think you know,
856
00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:22.079
for me, I was never driven by winning awards.
857
00:44:22.119 --> 00:44:23.920
I was never saying I'm going to do this because
858
00:44:23.920 --> 00:44:27.440
I want to win an award. Those just came along pleasantly.
859
00:44:27.519 --> 00:44:31.760
Surprised by those things. I think my advice to anybody
860
00:44:32.320 --> 00:44:35.320
in this industry or coming up in this industry is.
861
00:44:36.719 --> 00:44:39.639
Just do it because you're passionate about it. Don't do
862
00:44:39.679 --> 00:44:42.119
it because you feel like this is something that you
863
00:44:42.199 --> 00:44:42.920
that's trendy.
864
00:44:43.719 --> 00:44:45.920
Stay true to what you are, and if you have
865
00:44:46.199 --> 00:44:49.800
a culinary voice or PUSI you want to showcase.
866
00:44:50.360 --> 00:44:51.119
Be proud of that.
867
00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:54.280
I think that was something for me my journey of
868
00:44:54.320 --> 00:44:58.719
cooking with so many chefs that finally I was able
869
00:44:58.760 --> 00:45:03.159
to find my code, their voice and showcase Caribbean food
870
00:45:03.760 --> 00:45:04.519
in my restaurant.
871
00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:06.760
So I think, just stay true to what you what
872
00:45:06.880 --> 00:45:08.039
you are, and what you want to do.
873
00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:11.920
Always have a goal, you know, whether it's a small
874
00:45:11.960 --> 00:45:14.639
goal or a big goal, but you know, challenge yourself.
875
00:45:14.719 --> 00:45:18.679
I always tell people, don't have to get complacent, you know,
876
00:45:18.760 --> 00:45:22.159
because that's an easy, easy way to get a little
877
00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:25.239
too comfortable. But you have to be motivated. You have
878
00:45:25.320 --> 00:45:29.440
to challenge yourself, you know, try and improve every day
879
00:45:29.840 --> 00:45:31.440
because nobody will do that for you.
880
00:45:31.440 --> 00:45:33.119
You have to do that for yourself.
881
00:45:33.840 --> 00:45:37.760
Absolutely, and also know when to push stop and stop,
882
00:45:38.239 --> 00:45:40.679
you know, and reset, which I think you've learned to
883
00:45:40.679 --> 00:45:43.000
do as well, and we all need to learn that
884
00:45:43.119 --> 00:45:45.559
more in this crazy world. Again, I'm gonna hold up
885
00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:50.599
the book. It's great quiole, which is the a Caribbean
886
00:45:50.639 --> 00:45:53.719
term for creole in case you have figured that out. Recipes,
887
00:45:53.840 --> 00:45:55.920
stories and teens. I learned that word when I was
888
00:45:55.920 --> 00:45:59.639
a little girl going to Jamaica as Saint Louis Chef's
889
00:45:59.719 --> 00:46:01.880
journe I used to go to Jamaica a lot as
890
00:46:01.880 --> 00:46:04.719
a little girl, so I loved seeing this and some
891
00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:06.320
of the dishes I used to eat when I was
892
00:46:06.360 --> 00:46:09.519
a little girl there. So congratulations on ten years at
893
00:46:09.519 --> 00:46:14.239
compare Lapan. A book all your success and living and
894
00:46:14.320 --> 00:46:19.480
enduring this crazy industry, right, yes, yes, And to all
895
00:46:19.679 --> 00:46:24.199
who are following, get out and come to New Orleans please.
896
00:46:24.280 --> 00:46:27.360
This is a wonderful city year round and in the
897
00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:31.880
summer it's quiet. You can get into every restaurant and
898
00:46:31.920 --> 00:46:36.400
there's great culinary deals, restaurant week deals and wonderful things
899
00:46:36.400 --> 00:46:39.800
and museums and go check out compare Lapan and the
900
00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:43.400
hotel which you know, my friends all love the old
901
00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:46.760
number seventy seven in chantlery. You can go, have a
902
00:46:46.800 --> 00:46:49.119
great stay, a meal, and ever even step outside of
903
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:55.079
it rains. So thank you again, Nina. We really appreciate it,
904
00:46:55.199 --> 00:46:55.800
my pleasure.
905
00:46:56.400 --> 00:46:57.519
Thank you.
906
00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:00.480
You've been listening to The Connected Table Live with Melanie
907
00:47:00.519 --> 00:47:03.760
Young and David Ransom. We love sharing the stories of
908
00:47:03.800 --> 00:47:06.920
people in our industry with you, and we encourage you
909
00:47:07.000 --> 00:47:11.000
to get out there and expand your appetite and palette
910
00:47:11.079 --> 00:47:16.239
and discover because we want you always to stay insatiably curious.
911
00:47:16.679 --> 00:47:20.280
Follow us at the Connected Table on Instagram and listen
912
00:47:20.320 --> 00:47:23.159
to our show on more than sixty five podcasts around
913
00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:27.119
the world. We want you to and YouTube now, so
914
00:47:27.440 --> 00:47:30.480
connect with us and we'll be back with another show
915
00:47:30.519 --> 00:47:31.039
next week.