On September 17, Chef Eric Cook, known for the exquisite cuisine at his New Orleans restaurants Gris-Gris and Saint John, will release his first cookbook, Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine, through Gibbs Smith Publishing. A book launch happy hour is planned on that date at Gris-Gris from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event will include cocktail specials and complimentary passed apps featured in the book. Copies of Modern Creole will be available at the door, and Chef Cook will be available to sign copies.
Cook has been a chef for over thirty years and the idea for Modern Creole began during the pandemic when restaurants were forced to shut down temporarily. An avid cookbook collector, Cook found inspiration in Chef Charlie Trotter’s books; the chef published fourteen cookbooks throughout his life. When Cook was putting together his own cookbook, he wanted to focus on the lessons he had learned in his career and include the stories of the food he was raised on.
He says, “During the pandemic I started writing down some of the memories I had of food and the dishes that were tied to those memories. A lot of the dishes I make at the restaurants are just memories. Cooking is an emotional process and I had the time to dig deep and look at how far we had come.”
From there, Cook began the process of choosing recipes for the book, including a combination of American Southern food and home-cooked recipes. Modern Creole not only includes food enjoyed at Cook’s restaurants, but recipes that he makes at home with his family. With 120 food and cocktail recipes, Modern Creole tells the story of Cook’s career, however, there was one challenge when he was putting the book together.
“I never used exact recipes of things,” he explains. “The hardest part was trying to figure out how we made everything we did and test it and retest it. It was such a process.”
Modern Creole does a wonderful job of highlighting the connection between Cook’s Louisiana food culture and deep family traditions. You’ll find unique blend of classic recipes like Monday Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp Creole, Crawfish Etouffée, and Gumbo, along with unexpected dishes like Oyster BLT, Baked Flounder with Shrimp and Mirliton Dressing, and Cast-Iron Swordfish with Summer Sautéed Vegetables. The assortment also includes one of my personal favorites, My Mom’s Chicken and Dumplings, a dish that has become a staple at Gris-Gris.
“My mom was feeding four kids, so it was one of those dishes that was always on the stove,” he says. “That one-pot cooking represents what I wanted to convey at the restaurant. I slightly changed the Chicken and Dumplings recipe from my mom’s. When I started cooking it at home, it was my wife’s idea to include carrots and it’s become a staple at Gris-Gris.”
In addition to food, Modern Creole includes a selection of delightful cocktail recipes. Cook explains that because New Orleans is considered such a cocktail-centered city, it was important to include a good cocktail selection that weaves together drinks created by Cook and bartenders who have worked at his restaurants throughout the years. Some classics, such as the Gin Brigitte, were included because customers love them. Cook notes that Gin Brigitte is one of his wife’s “go-to” cocktails.
Moving forward, Cook is hard at work renovating the building at 715 St. Charles Ave. for the new location of Saint John. The restaurant was formerly located in the French Quarter before going on hiatus in May. Saint John’s new location is set to open in early fall, with Darren Chabert serving as chef de cuisine.
He says, “I looked at many buildings and the one on St. Charles just spoke to me; it’s a great spot. It’s going to be amazing to watch that energy come back to life. Saint John is a passion of ours and we feel so good about the restaurant’s place in New Orleans. Every day it feels more and more like a renovation and bringing new life into something that has been established for three years.”
Darren Chabert is a chef who has worked his way through the ranks of New Orleans restaurants. He and Cook met when Chabert was a line cook at Delmonico, and Cook was a line cook at Commander’s Palace. The pair were neighbors, and Cook was drawn to Chabert’s love and global knowledge of food and cooking and his dedication to the hard work that goes into working in a bustling restaurant kitchen.
“He is just a rock of inspiration because he comes from the old school where he knows it’s hard work and he’s willing to do the hard work,” Cook explains. “There’s a fine line to walk between authenticity and marketing. His approach is genuine and all-encompassing; he’s one-hundred percent thrown into it and his food is a snapshot of the diversity that is New Orleans food.”
Chabert is drawing inspiration for Saint John’s new menu from African, South American, Haitian, Caribbean, and Gulf States’ cuisine, telling the story of diversity, inclusion, and evolution. Cook is eager to welcome people back into Saint John but, in the meantime, customers can be satiated with the menu at Gris-Gris and the opportunity to try the recipes at home with Modern Creole. He hopes that the memories created at his restaurants and with his cookbook will bring people together as food so often does.
