John Besh

John Besh(born May 14, 1968) is an American chef, TV personality, philanthropist, restaurateur and author. He is known for his efforts in preserving the culinary heritage ofNew Orleans cuisine.
Besh was born inMeridian, Mississippi, and raised inSlidell.He has been married to Jenifer Berrigan Besh since 1991; together they have four children.The family are practicingCatholicsand parishioners of the St. Luke the Evangelist Church inSlidell, Louisiana.Besh is a formerUS Marine.In 1992, he graduated fromThe Culinary Institute of America(CIA), but his schooling was cut short owing to his serving in theGulf War.
In 1999,Food & Winenamed Besh among the "Best New Chefs" based on his food at restaurantArtesia.
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 restaurantAugust.
In 2006, Besh won theJames Beard Awardfor "Best Chef, South".In 2008, he earned Food Arts' Silver Spoon Award for "revitalizing the culinary legacy of New Orleans".
In 2017, the BRG managers and owners were accused of perpetuating "a culture ofsexual harassment" andsexual misconductat 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 myCatholicfaith."Celebrity chefAnthony Bourdaintweeted 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.BRG was renamedBRG Hospitalityafter Besh's departure.
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 theUniversity of Notre Dame.According to theNational Catholic Reporter, "Other Catholic entities that have been affiliated with Besh have not released statements about their future relationship".Besh also served as ajudge(alongside fellow chefGiada De Laurentiis) on an episode of theFood NetworkseriesIron Chef Showdownthat 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.
Lindsey Reynolds, the former Besh Restaurant Group staff member who helped expose the company's culture of sexual harassment, is one of the peopleTimemagazine named among the national#MeToomovement as 2017'sTimePerson of the Year.
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:
The following restaurants associated with Besh are now closed or no longer feature Besh:
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,ISBN978-0997355918