John Besh

John Besh (born May 14, 1968, in Meridian, Mississippi) is an American chef, TV personality, philanthropist, restaurateur and author. He is known for his efforts in preserving the culinary heritage of New Orleans cuisine.

Biography
Besh was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and raised in Southern Louisiana in Slidell. He has been married to Jennifer Besh since 1991, together they have four children. Besh is a former US Marine. In 1992 he graduated from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) but his schooling was cut short due to serving time in the Gulf war.

In 2006, Besh won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef, South”. In 2008, he earned Food Arts’ Silver Spoon Award for "revitalizing the culinary legacy of New Orleans".

Sexual misconduct controversy
John Besh was a co-owner of Besh Restaurant Group (BRG). In 2017, the BRG managers and owners were accused of allegations of perpetuating "a culture of sexual harassment" and sexual misconduct at the restaurants, publicized by 25 current and former employees.

Besh addressed the accusations in a statement: “Two years ago, I deeply hurt those I love by thoughtlessly engaging in a consensual relationship with one member of my team. Since then I have been seeking to rebuild my marriage and come to terms with my reckless actions given the profound love I have for my wife, my boys and my Catholic faith.” Celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain tweeted an image of the complaint filed against Besh's group, calling it, "the beginning of the end of institutionalized Meathead Culture in the restaurant business".

Two days after the allegations were made public, Besh stepped down from BRG. BRG executive Shannon White replaced Besh as CEO of the restaurant group.

Restaurants
Many of his restaurants celebrate Louisiana regional cooking, including; Restaurant August, Besh Steakhouse, Lüke, La Provence, Domenica, Pizza Domenica, Johnny Sanchez, Shaya and Borgne.

A list of Besh's active restaurants include: A list of Besh's closed restaurants include:
 * August – New Orleans’ Central Business District – his flagship restaurant, featuring contemporary French cuisine with an emphasis on local ingredients. Featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants," and "America's Top 50 Restaurants."
 * Borgne – Hyatt Regency – coastal Louisiana cuisine, such as shrimp toast rissoles, oyster spaghetti and seafood stuffed flounder.
 * Domenica – Roosevelt Hotel – Italian; name means “Sunday” in Italian.
 * Pizza Domenica – Uptown New Orleans - A casual spinoff of Domenica featuring counter service and a great beer selection.
 * La Provence – Lacombe, Louisiana – French.
 * Johnny Sanchez – New Orleans Central Business District - Mexican-Inspired.
 * Shaya – New Orleans Garden District - Modern Israeli cuisine.
 * Willa Jean – The Paramount at South Market District - bakery and restaurant opened in August 2015.
 * The Caribbean Room, Bayou Bar, Hot Tin, Silverwhistle Cafe – All located at the historic Pontchartrain Hotel opened summer of 2016 and represent the highest in fine dining, refined bar food, craft cocktails and palate pleasing New Orleans breakfast staples respectively.
 * Eunice – “Cajun, Creole brasserie”, opening "late Fall 2017" in Houston, Texas
 * Besh Steak – Harrah's New Orleans Casino – steakhouse. In October 2017, Harrah's announced that they would be terminating the relationship with Besh Restaurant Group (BRG) after the controversy around sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
 * Lüke – New Orleans Central Business District, previously a location in San Antonio (closed in 2017) – French, German and Creole cuisine.
 * Johnny Sanchez Baltimore – Mexican-Inspired, co-owned with Aarón Sánchez, closed in 2017.

Television appearances

 * ''Chefs A' Field
 * Iconoclasts - episode 17, broadcast November 22, 2007
 * Food Network Challenge - judge
 * Iron Chef America
 * The Next Iron Chef - runner-Up, season 1
 * Top Chef - New Orleans guest, season 5 finale
 * Top Chef Masters - contestant
 * Treme - self, season 1, episode 7 "Smoke My Peace Pipe"
 * Inedible To Incredible - host
 * Chef John Besh's Family Table - host of the 26-part cooking series (premiered in 2013)
 * Hungry Investors - host
 * NCIS: New Orleans - episode 22 (Help Wanted), season 2; broadcast May 3, 2016
 * Chef John Besh's New Orleans – host of the 26-part cooking series (premiered in April 2011)

Cookbooks

 * My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4494-0787-2.
 * My New Orleans: The Cookbook: 200 of My Favorite Recipes & Stories from My Hometown, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7407-8413-2.
 * Cooking From The Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way, 2013, ISBN 978-1449430566.
 * Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes, September 2015, ISBN 978-1449469177.

Contributions
Besh has contributed recipes or been featured in the following books:
 * The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook by Mimi Luebbermann, Robert Holmes, and Dan Mills, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8118-5355-2.
 * The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse, 2004, p. 786, ISBN 978-0-9704457-1-1.
 * The Pleasure of Your Company: Entertaining in High Style by Kimberly Schlegel, 2004, p. 122, ISBN 978-1-58685-314-3.