WHO: John Besh
WHAT: The award-winning New Orleans chef is owner of nine restaurants, including August, Besh Steak, The American Sector, and Domenica. He published his first book, “My New Orleans,’’ in 2009, but soon realized the recipes might be too complex for the average cook. With that in mind, he wrote “My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking.’’ “The family table’s something that’s been the nucleus of all families throughout history,’’ he says. “We’re a generation away from that home-cooked meal, celebrated at the table, that breaking of bread. And I think that leaves us in a very perilous position as a country, as a society, as humanity - period.’’
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Q. What inspired you to write this book?
A. I had a conversation with my wife a couple years ago, where I questioned what she was feeding our boys - which was a huge mistake. We have four sons and with the restaurant and just keeping up with the boys, we were just kind of running ourselves into this rut. And my wife turned the whole conversation back onto me and made it clear that if I would take half the energy I use to go to the ends of the earth to find that perfect ingredient for our restaurant and apply it to our boys, then the way we eat at home would totally be reformed. The book is one-third mea culpa, where I come to the realization that I had not been living up to my end of the bargain. And the way that I changed is by applying two decades of professional culinary knowledge to the home kitchen.
Q. Why such a dramatic subtitle - a “passionate plea’’?
A. I think it’s obvious that we’re consuming less home-cooked meals than ever before. I added to the problem by competing on [cooking shows]. It started with various Food Network series, competitions, that led to “Iron Chef’’ and “The Next Iron Chef’’ and being a recurring judge on “Top Chef.’’ I’m exacerbating the problem by making food the spectacle that it’s become. I don’t think that was the intention of any network or any chef.
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Q. You say you’re adding to the problem by turning cooking into a spectacle. What have we lost?
A. It used to be when I was a kid, we would get dressed up and go out for these great meals. But if we ate out once a month, that would have been something. Now we just do so much of it that I think a lot of people are just tricked into thinking, “Well, it’s easier to go out and buy that kids’ meal than actually purchase the food, take it home, and cook.’’ What I’m trying to do is show people that with one chicken, I can feed my family of six two different meals, making it much more cost effective.
Q. How do you educate people on what they should be buying?
A. If we can start with just one meal then I think we’re off to a good start. For years I have been preaching, “Buy local, buy sustainable, buy organic,’’ and what I found is that I’m preaching to such a small segment of our population that has the time and education to adhere to that kind of regimen. Whatever we can do to entice people back into the kitchen without being preachy and scaring them off - that’s my mission.
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Q. You worked with New Orleans children who were suffering after Hurricane Katrina, teaching them to cook.
A. That experience was incredible. We started making these great New Orleans tribute recipes that everybody has a relationship with, whether it’s red beans and rice or etouffee. That’s what these children craved - not just the food, but the soulfulness that emanates from the food. That, I think, taught me just as much as it taught the children about the importance and the nobility of cooking and eating together. And through breaking bread and sitting at the table, these children started talking about their problems. Food is really that common thread that brought us together. It was at that point that I realized we could change the world with this.
Interview has been condensed and edited. Glenn Yoder can be reached at gyoder@globe.com.