Welcome

I never realized how important gumbo was.

--Chef Kevin Vizard
Vizard's on the Avenue
Several weeks after Hurricane Katrina

On August 29th, 2005, one of the greatest disasters in American history culminated with the inundation of 80% of New Orleans. More than one million people were evacuated, many of whom have yet to return to their homes. In this group were some of this nation's most talented chefs.

Chefs in Exile will document the personal stories of these chefs: how they survived Katrina and fought heroically to reopen their damaged restaurants-understaffed, with no potable water, and often homeless themselves. In the darkest days following the hurricane, these chefs provided solace through their cooking to family and friends, stranded hotel guests, and relief workers throughout the city and beyond.

In so doing, they sent a reassuring message to this most culinary of cities: if they could rebuild their restaurants and welcome its citizenry back, so too could New Orleans surmount the hurricane and be revitalized. The chefs' dedication created a much-needed sense of normality for a city whose heart lies in fine dining. Most New Orleanians will never forget when they first walked into a re-opened restaurant in their neighborhood. Many broke down crying. The experience of sitting down and enjoying a meal, whether it was a simple hamburger or fine cuisine served on Styrofoam, felt like a joyous statement, "We're still here! We will survive this!"

This book will be the stories of some 25-30 of New Orleans' top chefs, who "cooked in exile" either in a distant city, or in a communal situation while surrounded by miles of floodwaters during the aftermath of the hurricane. They cooked as a means to distract themselves and to provide comfort to others, including the men and women who were risking their lives to rescue others. All of their stories are colorful and a wonderful testament to the strength of the human spirit.

We are collecting these stories through extensive one-on-one interviews, and by trailing each chef for a day in their kitchens. Each chef will supply 2-5 recipes to accompany the stories. Some of the recipes will be those the chefs prepared while in exile, others will be those they most often dreamed of preparing while away from their kitchens, others simply represent for these chefs food that forges their deepest emotional connection to New Orleans.


The culmination of the work described above is now available, albeit in a slightly different published form. Click on the image to the left for more details.







• New Orleans Chefs Participating
• Publication Information
• Chefs in Exile in the news
• Progress Report: June 27, 2006
• Progress Report: May 23, 2006
• Progress Report: March 17, 2006
• About the Authors
• Contact Information