Brandon Boudet, despite the fact that he grew up in New Orleans and has a French last name, is not Cajun or Creole. Rather, his paternal great-grandfather came straight from Paris, not from the Canadian Maritime provinces like the Cajuns did.Regardless, the chef and co-owner of Little Dom’s in Los Angeles and Little Dom’s Seafood in Carpinteria, Ca…

Tiffany Derry is using her chicken fried in duck fat, which she served in the Obama White House not once, but twice, to empower underserved communities. The chef who has appeared on TV shows such as Top Chef and Bar Rescue has teamed up with attorney Tom Foley to create T2D Concepts, the parent company of Roots Chicken Shak, with the mission of fra…

Akash Kapoor was in the sub-prime mortgage business until the bottom fell out of that market, catalyzing the financial crisis of 2008. Dipping his toe in to the restaurant business, he tried his hand at southern Indian food until a friend mentioned this guy Roy Choi who was selling Korean tacos out of a truck in Los Angeles. That seemed like a good…

The fine-dining chef turns to comfort food while giving back to the community.In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn

Since the pandemic started, restaurateurs have been adjusting and rejiggering operations, turning fine dining restaurants into takeout comfort food operations, selling groceries and otherwise providing whatever their customers said they needed.Aimee Olexy has been doing that for 14 years at Talula’s Table in Kennett Square, Pa., about 30 miles outs…

In this podcast Loughhead discusses his career path, his changing priorities and the memories he has created along the way.In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn

Michael Lewis has spent most of his career working in one kitchen at a time. The native of Baltimore got his start in some of the finest New York City kitchens, including Le Bernardin, Bouley Bakery and Jean Georges, but he also has worked at larger concepts such as the London-based big-box Japanese chain Zuma. He gained foodies’ attention as the e…