New Orleans cuisine as storybook

Love cookbooks? Bet your favorites are those that not only present high-quality recipes, but also offer insights into the origins of the food they discuss. In that case, don't miss Louisiana chef John Besh’s new tome: “My New Orleans, the Cookbook.”

Winner of the 2010 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Best American Cookbook, this 360-page storybook is filled with gorgeous photos and 200 recipes for Besh's delectable cuisine. This book goes easily from coffee table to kitchen, and then to the sitting room, where you could spend hours reading Besh’s reflections about growing up and raising his own family in south Louisiana.

Of the many “food stars” who have called the Bayou State home, none may be better equipped than Besh to give indigenous Louisiana dishes their due while also rendering them in creative new ways. An avid hunter, fisher and outdoorsman in his early life, even Besh’s first forays into cooking focused on the foods and natural resources he found all around him. Today, he, his wife and four young sons still live, work, play – and cook – in bountiful southeastern Louisiana.

Besh, who in 2006 was named Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation, now is owner and executive chef of six marquis restaurants in and around New Orleans:

• Restaurant August – His flagship fine-dining restaurant occupies an elegant corner building in downtown New Orleans.

• Lüke – A more casual but upscale dining room, it has a big following in the heart of the business district.

• Domenica – His newest restaurant, a stylish establishment serving authentic rural Italian cuisine, is located on the ground floor of the newly renovated Roosevelt Hotel.

• The American Sector – A sleek dining room and bar within the newest wing of the National World War II Museum, it serves war-era dishes with exciting twists.

• Besh Steak at Harrah's New Orleans Casino – A striking and popular steakhouse located in Harrah’s New Orleans Casino, downtown.

• La Provence – Long one of the most authentic French restaurants in the area, this country-style dining room north of Lake Pontchartrain came into Besh’s hands through his friendship with the late chef-owner, Chris Kerageorgiou.

“My New Orleans, the Cookbook” is available in major bookstores and through their online sites. Watch for postings of some of our favorite recipes from this beautiful cookbook.