Besh, restaurants receive high honors from LRA

Slidell resident and acclaimed chef John Besh spiced up his resume recently when the Louisiana Restaurant Association named him the 2008 Restauranteur of Year.

Besh, who is the master chef and owner of Restaurant August, Besh Steak, Luke and La Provence, now joins Louisiana legends Ralph Brennan, Emeril Lagasse and Susan Spicer as a few of the award’s winners.

“In a town like New Orleans, in a state like Louisiana, all culinary competitions raise higher each year “the heat” for one to strive for the best – the ingredients are just that good,” Besh’s camp said in release. “All the more reason that John Besh bears the honor with pride and keeps on cookin’.”

Besh was most recently recognized as a runner-up on the Food Network’s show, “The Next Iron Chef,” one of a long line of accolades that started at the outset of his graduation from The Culinary Institute of America.

In 1999, “Food & Wine” magazine named him one of the “Top 10 Best New Chefs in America.”

In 2003, “Gourmet” magazine included Restaurant August in its “Guide to America’s Best Restaurants,” and in 2006, it cited Restaurant August as one of America’s Top 50 Restaurants. In 2005, John received a nomination for a James Beard Award, and he won the Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast in 2006. Also that year, he defeated Chef Mario Batali on Iron Chef America on Food Network, scoring a victory in the andouille sausage battle.

The 2007 Zagat Guide rates Restaurant August No. 1 in New Orleans for both Food and Service.

Besh lives in Slidell with his wife, Jenifer and four kids, Brenden, 11, Jack, 6, Luke, 4, and Andrew 2.