The People's Best New Chef: Gulf Coast Contenders

At F&W, we name America’s 10 most brilliant up-and-coming chefs every year. Now we want to know who you think is the most talented new chef in America.

Regions:
California, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, New York Area, Northwest & Pacific, Southeast, Southwest

Gulf Coast Chefs

• Cory Bahr
• Michael Doyle
• Juan Carlos Gonzalez
• Jeffrey Hansell
• Alex Harrell
• Phillip Lopez
• Jose Mendin
• Chris Newsome
• Giorgio Rapicavoli
• José Santaella

Photo courtesy of Restaurant Cotton

Cory Bahr

Restaurant: Cotton (Read a review)

Location: Monroe, LA

Why He's Amazing: Because he's sourcing the best ingredients—from cornmeal and sweet potatoes to rabbits, venison and duck eggs—from friends and neighbors for his updated and spectacular Southern dishes.

Culinary School: Self-taught

Background: Sage; internships at Commander's Palace and Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse (New Orleans)

Photo © Johnny Gembitsky

Michael Doyle

Restaurant: Maurepas Foods (Read a review)

Location: New Orleans

Why He's Amazing: Because he's redefining modern Southern cooking with audacious dishes such as butternut squash with snails, pickled peanuts and spiced whiskey butter.

Culinary School: Self-taught

background: Dante's Kitchen (/sites/default/files/ew Orleans)

More on Michael Doyle

Photo © David G. Spielman

Juan Carlos Gonzalez

Restaurant: SoBou (Read a review)

Location: New Orleans

Why He's Amazing: Because his dishes inspired by Creole and Puerto Rican street food — like shrimp-and-tasso pinchos [bar snacks] — take pub food to a new level.

Culinary School: The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)

background: Internship at Le Bernardin; Commander's Palace, Café Adelaide (New Orleans); Bistro Alex (Houston)

Photo © Daniel Taylor Photography

Jeffrey Hansell

Restaurant: Veranda on Highland (Read a review)

Location: Birmingham, AL

Why He's Amazing: Because he's revamped the menu at a Birmingham mainstay with the kind of dishes you'd find at an amazing Southern dinner party — like fried pickles with garlic remoulade, and shrimp and grits made with local beer.

Culinary School: University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast (Long Beach, MS)

Background: Commander's Palace, Lüke, The Little Nell (Aspen, CO)

More on Jeffrey Hansell

Photo © Romney Photography

Alex Harrell

Restaurant: Sylvain (Read a review)

Location: New Orleans

Why He's Amazing: Because his thoughtfully prepared gastropub menu has locals in the touristy French Quarter queuing up for a seat.

Culinary School: Self-taught

Background: Mustard Seed, Galatoire's, Gerard's Downtown, Martinique Bistro, Bayona (New Orleans)

Photo © Sara Essex Bradley

Phillip Lopez

Restaurant: Root (Read a review)

Location: New Orleans

Why He's Amazing: Because he's making New American food that's unabashedly postmodern. For instance, a dish of scallops with chorizo dust and caramelized cauliflower, served in a cigar box with Cohiba smoke piped in, is an ode to his Mexican-Cuban father's leathery-smelling cigars.

Culinary School: Self-taught

background: Coastal Grill, Citronelle (Washington, DC); August, Lüke, American Sector, Rambla (New Orleans)

Photo © Hector Torres

Jose Mendin

Restaurant: Pubbelly (Read a review)

Location: Miami Beach

Why He's Amazing: Because he's revitalizing Miami Beach's Sunset Harbour neighborhood with this boisterous, Asian-inspired gastropub.

Culinary School: Johnson & Wales University (North Miami)

Background: Mercadito, Nobu, Veranda, SushiSamba (Las Vegas)

Chris Newsome

Restaurant: Ollie Irene (Read a review)

Location: Mountain Brook, AL

Why He's Amazing: Because he's given his hometown its first gastropub, named in honor of his home-cooking sharecropper grandmother—and it's awesome.

Culinary School: Coursework at Johnson & Wales University (Charleston, SC)

background: Bottega Café, Highlands Bar & Grill, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Pizzeria Delfina, Spruce (San Francisco); FIG (Charleston, SC)

Photo © Mario Davilas

Giorgio Rapicavoli

Restaurant: Eating House (Read a review)

Location: Coral Gables, FL

Why He's Amazing: Because he's translated his devotion to slow food, graffiti and childhood treats like Oreos into a wildly successful pop-up that's now a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Culinary School: Coursework at Johnson & Wales University (North Miami)

Background: Chispa, 660 at The Angler's (Miami Beach)

José Santaella

Restaurant: Santaella (Read a review)

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Why He's Amazing: Because after years of working with some of the world's best European and American chefs, he's redefining cocina criolla — the cooking of his home, Puerto Rico.

Culinary School: Self-taught

Background: Le Bernardin New York City); Chez Michel, Gary Danko