John Besh Explained

John Besh
Birth Date:1968 5, mf=yes
Birth Place:Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
Spouse:Jenifer Berrigan Besh
Education:Culinary Institute of America
Children:4

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

Background

Besh was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and raised in Slidell.[1] [2] He has been married to Jenifer Berrigan Besh since 1991; together they have four children.[3] The family are practicing Catholics and parishioners of the St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Slidell, Louisiana. Besh is a former US Marine.[4] [5] In 1992, he graduated from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), but his schooling was cut short owing to his serving in the Gulf War.[6]

In 1999, Food & Wine named Besh among the "Best New Chefs" based on his food at restaurant Artesia.[7]

John Besh was a co-owner with Octavio Mantilla of Besh Restaurant Group (BRG), the group formed after they bought out the original investors of the acclaimed restaurant August.

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

See also: Weinstein effect. In 2017, the BRG managers and owners were accused of perpetuating "a culture of sexual harassment" and sexual misconduct at the restaurants, publicized by 25 current and former employees.[8] [9]

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."[10] 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".[11]

Two days after the allegations were made public, Besh stepped down from BRG.[12] [13] BRG executive Shannon White replaced Besh as CEO of the restaurant group.[14] [15] BRG was renamed BRG Hospitality after Besh's departure.[16]

Aftermath

In October 2017, in response to the allegations of sexual misconduct, Besh stepped down from the executive advisory board for the Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame. According to the National Catholic Reporter, "Other Catholic entities that have been affiliated with Besh have not released statements about their future relationship". Besh also served as a judge (alongside fellow chef Giada De Laurentiis) on an episode of the Food Network series Iron Chef Showdown that was originally set to air on December 13, 2017; however, the episode got pushed back to January 10, 2018, with Besh having been digitally edited out.[17] [18]

Lindsey Reynolds, the former Besh Restaurant Group staff member who helped expose the company's culture of sexual harassment, is one of the people Time magazine named among the national

  1. MeToo
movement as 2017's Time Person of the Year.[19]

Restaurants

Many of his restaurants have celebrated Louisiana regional cooking, including Restaurant August, Besh Steakhouse, Lüke, La Provence, Domenica, Pizza Domenica, Johnny Sánchez, Shaya and Borgne.

The following active restaurants are associated with Besh:[20]

The following restaurants associated with Besh are now closed or no longer feature Besh:

Television appearances

!Year released!Television show title!Network!Notes
2005Chefs A' FieldWarner Hanson Television, KCTSEpisode 307, broadcast January 1, 2005, episode takes place on a shrimp boat
2006Iron Chef AmericaFood NetworkSeason 3, Episode 1[28]
2007Food Network ChallengeFood NetworkSeason 5, Episode 9, role of judge of the mac and cheese challenge[29]
2007IconoclastsSundance ChannelEpisode 17, broadcast November 22, 2007
2007The Next Iron ChefFood NetworkSeason 1, runner up contestant
2009 – 2014Top ChefBravo NetworkAppears in the Season 5 Finale, as well as Seasons 8, 9 and 11; always as a guest judge.
2009Top Chef MastersBravo NetworkSeason 1, contestant
2010TremeHBOSeason 1, Episode 7, "Smoke My Peace Pipe", plays self
2010Inedible To IncredibleTLChost
2011Chef John Besh's New OrleansPublic Broadcasting Service (PBS)Premiered in April 2011, host of the 26-part cooking series.[30] [31]
2013Chef John Besh's Family TableWYES-New Orleanspremiered in 2013, host of the 26-part cooking series.[32]
2014Hungry InvestorsParamount Networkreality tv host
2016CBSSeason 2, Episode 22, "Help Wanted", broadcast May 3, 2016

Bibliography

Cookbooks

Contributions

Besh has contributed writing, recipes or been featured in the following books:

Susan Schadt (Author) John Besh (Contribution by) John Currence (Contribution by) Kelly English (Contribution by) Chris Hastings (Contribution by) Donald Link (Contribution by) Walter Bundy (Contribution by) Kevin Willman (Contribution by) Jeremiah Bacon (Contribution by) Lisa Buser (Photographer) Peter Kaminsky (Foreword by), 2016,

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chef John Besh. New Orleans Online. New Orleans Tourism Marketing. January 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20140303065534/http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/cuisine/chefs/chefbesh.html. 2014-03-03. dead.
  2. News: John Besh restaurants fostered culture of sexual harassment, 25 women say. Anderson. Brett. October 21, 2017. The Times-Picayune. October 22, 2017. NOLA.com. en-US.
  3. News: Heidi. Schlumpf. Chef's Catholic connections in spotlight after sexual harassment allegations. November 2, 2017. National Catholic Reporter. November 29, 2017. en.
  4. Web site: Chef John Besh of Besh Restaurant Group. 2012. StarChefs. January 7, 2017.
  5. News: From Disaster, a Chef Forges an Empire. Severson. Kim. October 31, 2007. The New York Times. 0362-4331. 2017-01-07.
  6. Web site: Alumni, Besh, John. The Culinary Institute of America. en. January 7, 2017.
  7. News: Brett. Anderson. From combat Marine to celebrity chef: How John Besh built a restaurant empire post-Katrina. The Times-Picayune. October 21, 2017. NOLA.com. June 9, 2018. en-US.
  8. Report: Chef John Besh accused of allowing culture of sexual harassment at his restaurants. October 21, 2017. The Advocate.
  9. Web site: Erin. DeJesus. 25 John Besh Employees Allege Sexual Harassment in His Restaurants: The New Orleans restaurant group, according to a report, fostered a culture that encouraged harassment and assault. eater.com. October 21, 2017.
  10. Celebrity Chef John Besh's Restaurant Group Accused of Fostering Sexual Harassment. People. Lindsay. Kimble. October 22, 2017.
  11. Anthony. Bourdain. Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain. The beginning of the end of institutionalized Meathead Culture in the restaurant business. 921839172025028614. October 21, 2017. Twitter.
  12. News: Celebrity chef John Besh resigns amid sexual harassment allegations. CBS News. October 23, 2017.
  13. News: Niraj. Chokshi. Chef John Besh Steps Down Amid Sexual Harassment Scandal. October 23, 2017. The New York Times. June 9, 2018. en-US. 0362-4331.
  14. News: Chef John Besh, facing sexual harassment allegations, leaves the restaurant company he founded. McNulty. Ian. October 23, 2017. The Advocate. June 9, 2018. en.
  15. Web site: John Besh Steps Down from Restaurant Group Following Sexual Harassment Allegations: 25 women accused the restaurants of creating a culture that allowed harassment and assault. Monica. Burton. eater.com. October 23, 2017.
  16. News: Despite Tempestuous Year, John Besh's Restaurant Group Pushes Ahead With Opening. Carter. Stephanie. May 21, 2018. Eater New Orleans. June 9, 2018. John Besh’s restaurant group (now called BRG Hospitality).
  17. Web site: John Besh Gets Edited Out of 'Iron Chef Showdown,' Finally - Eater. Eater. Vox Media. Morabito. Greg. January 9, 2018. April 17, 2018.
  18. Web site: It sure looks like John Besh was edited out of this week's 'Iron Chef Showdown' - LA Times. LA Times. Tronc. Myers. Dan. January 11, 2018. April 17, 2018.
  19. News: Time Magazine Spotlights Besh Whistle-Blower Lindsey Reynolds. Carter. Stephanie. Eater New Orleans. December 7, 2017.
  20. Web site: Besh Restaurant Group . 2013-06-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130701083014/http://www.chefjohnbesh.com/restaurants.html . 2013-07-01 .
  21. Web site: New Orleans Chef John Besh Is Officially Headed To Houston. McCarthy. Amy. 2016-06-07. Eater Houston. 2017-01-07.
  22. Web site: Houston serving up a slate of new restaurants this fall and beyond. Para. Jen. Sep 27, 2017. BizJournals.com. 2017-10-23.
  23. News: Celebrity chef John Besh steps down from restaurant group amid sexual harassment allegations. Masunaga. Samantha. 2017-10-23. Los Angeles Times. 2017-10-23. en-US. 0458-3035.
  24. News: La Provence, A Lacombe Institution, Is Closed and For Sale for $1 Million [Updated]]. Eater New Orleans. 2018-06-08.
  25. Web site: New Orleans Chef John Besh Is Closing Lüke San Antonio. Chaudhury. Nadia. 2017-02-20. Eater Austin. 2017-07-28.
  26. News: Johnny Sanchez Baltimore, Co-Owned By John Besh, Closes Its Doors. Eater New Orleans. 2017-10-25.
  27. Web site: John Besh out at Johnny Sanchez; chef Aaron Sanchez, partners to run New Orleans restaurant. McNulty. Ian. 2019-02-16. The Advocate. en. 2019-05-20.
  28. Web site: Batali vs. Besh. Food Network. 2018-06-08.
  29. Web site: Food Network Challenge Mac and Cheese. Food Network. 2018-06-08.
  30. News: Chef John Besh's New Orleans Cooking Shows PBS Food. 2011-10-11. PBS Food. 2017-01-07. en-US. 2017-02-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20170221182833/http://www.pbs.org/food/shows/chef-john-beshs-new-orleans. dead.
  31. Web site: John Besh's New Orleans, Series . WYES New Orleans. 2017-01-07. 2017-01-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20170107171856/http://www.wyes.org/johnbesh/. dead.
  32. News: Press Release – John Besh's Family Table. WYES New Orleans. 2017-01-07. en-US.

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