Career
Besh was named one of the Ten Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 1999. In 2006, he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Southeast and was awarded Food Arts’ Silver Spoon Award in 2009 for revitalizing the culinary legacy of New Orleans. Besh’s devotion to local ingredients and local cuisine also extends to his entrepreneurial projects, including the creation of Besh Restaurant Group Catering; the launch of a line of gourmet products; and the publication of his two cookbooks. A former U.S. Marine, Besh is proud to have partnered with Baton Rouge-based emergency reconstruction specialists Arkel International, for which he creates high quality ready-to-eat meals for distribution to thousands of emergency response teams and sustained strategic operations in the U.S. and around the world; the novel initiative promotes the Gulf Coast’s food culture as it elevates the Louisiana economy. In recognition of such far-reaching contributions, the Louisiana Restaurant Association named him Restaurateur of the Year in 2008.
His flagship restaurant is Restaurant August which opened in 2001 in Central Business District, New Orleans. Since then he has opened eight more restaurants in New Orleans and one in San Antonio. When his mentor, Chris Kerageorgiou, died in 2006, Besh took over La Provence, the restaurant Kerageorgiou had founded. In September 2009, Besh opened Domenica in the recently renovated Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel serving Italian dishes. Besh competed against seven other renowned chefs in the first season of the Food Network's The Next Iron Chef, surviving throughout the competition to battle Michael Symon for the title. Though Symon was selected as the Iron Chef, Besh's work was highly praised by the judges and the Iron Chefs alike.
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