Chef John Besh Brought NOLA to the BA Night Kitchen and We're Still Full

Chef John Besh took over the BA Test Kitchen with a New Orleans-inspired buffet to celebrate the launch of his new cookbook.
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Alex Lau

It might have been cold and stormy in NYC last night, but, here at the BA Night Kitchen, we were living it up in steamy, sultry New Orleans, thanks to chef John Besh. To celebrate the launch of his newest cookbook, Besh Big Easy, the renowned NOLA restaurateur brought some of his team all the way up here to show us New Yorkers how real, down-home Southern food should be done. And, between the tasty Big Easy cuisine and Rebirth brass band (thanks, Lousiana Tourism!) serenading the festive crowd, we can safely say that they're really doing something right.

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    Alex Lau
    1/12

    Did Someone Say "Pork?"

    The jambalaya station stayed crowded all evening.Maybe it was the smell of slow-cooked pulled pork neck, but it could just as easily have been the fragrant rendered bacon or the three types of spicy sausages.

  • Alex Lau
    2/12

    Jambalaya, Improved

    This isn't your mom's jambalaya—thanks, in large part, to the deep-fried rice, which gives it a crunch. How to do it: After cooking your rice, cool it on a sheet tray, dredge it in rice flour, then fry in a pasta basket. Genius.

  • Alex Lau
    3/12

    "So I Can Make This?"

    BA deputy editor Andrew Knowlton trades kitchen secrets and enthuses over jambalaya with Miles Landrem, executive chef of one of Besh's New Orleans restaurants, Johnny Sanchez.

  • Alex Lau
    4/12

    Big Easy Tunes

    A raucous and transportive performance by the Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band set the New Orleans mood.

  • Alex Lau
    5/12

    The Freshest Pasta

    This shrimp étouffée with cavatelli went from raw to, well, dinner before our very (wide, hungry) eyes, as a chef scooped the fresh pasta out of a big bowl and folded it into the hot, rich sauce while we waited for our plate.

  • Alex Lau
    6/12

    Man With the Pans

    We salute you and your jambalaya, sir.

  • Alex Lau
    7/12

    Don't Tell Mama

    And then there was Mama's Seafood Gumbo, which we could eat a bowl of every day.

  • Alex Lau
    8/12

    King of Cakes

    The gold flakes atop this king cake made us feel so fancy we think we'll dub it the king of king cakes. The decadent addition was inspired by Essie's fall 2015 collection, and nail polish samples were handed out, too.

  • Alex Lau
    9/12

    Bayou Jams

    The music was so good that we wanted to move to New Orleans to drink a Jefferson's Old Fashioned (the cocktail of the evening—essentially an Old Fashioned with Jefferson's bourbon) on the porch and listen to nothing but brass bands forever.

  • 10/12

    Southern Food Makes You Happy

    It was hard to keep the smiles off our faces, as BA's Sylvia Chan, Eric Johnson, and Bree McKenney demonstrated. What can we say—good music and delicious food just put us in a good mood.

  • Alex Lau
    11/12

    Editor in the Kitchen

    To end the night, BA editor in chief Adam Rapoport gave us an impromptu steak-and-eggs cooking demo. How he was still hungry defies all reason, but, in his words, "Even when you throw a really fun book party with Chef John Besh, sometimes you've gotta go into the test kitchen and fire up the stove and sear off a couple of short ribs." Party on, Rapo.

  • 12/12

    The Book!

    We're gonna need that jambalaya recipe. Buy the book!

Integrated Editorial Assistant. (That’s fancy for writes/edits/does a bunch of random stuff for both the magazine and bonappetit.com.) When she’s not doing that, she’s having an O.C.D. freakout about how many open boxes are by her desk in Butter Alley (the Edit team area), hosting her weekly Sunday supper/game night,... Read more
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