2013 Chefs to Watch – Chef Justin Girouard

CHEF JUSTIN GIROUARD

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One of the most effective ways to honor local culture in Louisiana has always been through traditional cooking. So says Justin Girouard, who, along with his wife Margaret, own and operate The French Press in Lafayette.

Justin started in the industry by washing dishes in a restaurant kitchen, where he also learned to do minor cooking and prep work. Working his way up through the ranks, Justin eventually found himself at the elegant Stella! in New Orleans, where he worked for nine years. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he says. “Scott Boswell, who owns Stella!, saw something in me that he could utilize, and he really taught me how to cook. I fell in love with it.” Eventually Justin became the sous chef at Stella! and later managed the kitchen there and at Scott’s other French Quarter restaurant, Stanley.

The Girouards wanted to move back to their hometown, Lafayette, and bring with them a concept that so many Lafayette residents traveled frequently to New Orleans to patronize. “We just wanted to open a New Orleans-inspired restaurant that featured local Cajun cuisine and traditions, and we found this location that had New Orleans-style architecture and ambiance.

These days, Justin offers Cajun versions of traditional dishes, such as his Cajun Benedict, which uses French bread instead of English muffins, boudin instead of Canadian bacon, and is topped with chicken and andouille gumbo instead of hollandaise. “Our goal is to serve Cajun dishes in which the ingredients are just elements of the dish as a whole, rather than the main focus,” he says.

“We wanted to bring what we had learned home here to Lafayette.”

Recipe

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Meet the 2013 Chefs to Watch

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