Chef John Besh's world-class, award-winning cuisine springs from his deep roots in the rich food culture of South Louisiana. CHEF JOHN BESH'S NEW ORLEANS pays tribute and celebrates the food he loved growing up on the bayous, refined during his years of study in the United States and Europe, and brought back to his native New Orleans, where his restaurants remain indelible parts of Louisiana's culinary scene. CHEF JOHN BESH'S NEW ORLEANS offers Big Easy classics along with contemporary dishes for a rich combination of cooking technique, food history and personal memories from the chef's childhood. Each half-hour episode draws from Chef Besh's James Beard-nominated cookbook, My New Orleans: 200 of My Favorite Recipes and Stories from My Hometown. Featured dishes include: jalapeno cheese grits, green onion shrimp gravy, fried oyster salad, crawfish etouffee, Creole matzo ball soup, blood orange creme brulee, soft-shell shrimp with sweet chili sauce, trout almandine, Bourbon pecan pie, gnocchi with crab and truffle, pan-roasted lemonfish with ginger-pea risotto, grilled watermelon, tomato and goat cheese salad, quail gumbo and a brown butter fig tarte. Chef Besh has represented New Orleans before on several popular series, including Iron Chef America, Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, The Today Show, Paula's Home Cooking, CBS Early Show, Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray. He also has received numerous top industry accolades throughout his career, most notably the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast and Food & Wine's recognition as one of the "Top 10 Best Chefs in America." His restaurant, August, appeared twice in Gourmet magazine's annual ranking of "America's Top 50 Restaurants." In addition, Chef Besh owns Luke, Besh Steak, Domenica and American Sector in New Orleans, and La Provence in rural Louisiana.