NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANTS & FOOD - Chef's Corner

Austin Leslie of Pampy’s Creole Kitchen

Austin Leslie’s Barbecue Shrimp

Chef Austin Leslie became such a well-known chef and restaurateur that they needed an actor to play him. At least, his longtime Creole dining institution, Chez Helene, had charmed visitors to New Orleans to the point that CBS once launched a sitcom based on the restaurant (Frank’s Place starring Tim Reid).

But in the kitchen, now at Pampy’s Creole Kitchen, Austin Leslie is the actual star. Leslie is one of the top innovators of the more African-American side of New Orleans Creole cooking. And he’s back downtown, or actually in Gentilly near the Fair Grounds, not too far from his old restaurant. After years working behind the scenes at a popular Uptown restaurant, Leslie is a more familiar face in the front of the house at Pampy’s. But besides creating the menu, he’s helping a new generation of Creole chefs develop their vision of Creole cooking.

“Creole cooking is the combination of the French and Africans and soul food cooking with our seasoning,” he says.

While the French Quarter was full of Creole dining institutions, distinguished Creole restaurants like Chez Helene and Dooky Chase carried on the same traditions in African-American neighborhoods. The recipes bore great similarity even if the French Creoles were likely to call something a sauce that the African-American Creoles referred to as a gravy. But their well-seasoned layers of flavor where a common result.

Every Creole chef had his own twists and turns. At Pampy’s, Leslie has brought in his own signature versions of seafood gumbo, oysters Rockefeller, seafood stuffed peppers, stuffed shrimp and the bread pudding he got fro his Aunt at Chez Helene. One of his most famous dishes is his golden friend chicken, which he tops with pickles and a minced mix of garlic and parsley.

Longtime Jazz & Heritage Festival fans may remember his signature captains hat and sideburns. Leslie was part of the first five events, selling his gumbo, shrimp Creole and stuffed peppers. That Creole cooking is another facet of New Orleans’ rich culture.