Du Jour: Chef Hays Kahao, Mansurs on the Boulevard

Hays Kahao, executive chef at Mansurs on the Boulevard, learned his skills with food from his grandmother. Stuck in her country home on weekends, he found himself helping out around the kitchen without really thinking about it. In return, his grandmother began teaching him to cook. A family tradition of a yearly whole-pig roast was further indoctrination—he learned the art from his father, and by the time he turned 16, had taken it over completely. He worked at the Baton Rouge Country Club as a server with his older brother Kris, gradually insinuating himself into the kitchen. He also washed dishes in the Mansurs kitchen, at the behest of his uncle Timothy Kringlie, one of the original owners. “I’ve just always been around food,” he says. Click here to get the whole story.—Rachael UptonTo read previous Du Jour features on local chefs and other culinary experts, click here.