Du Jour: Patrick Brown, Louisiana Lagniappe

“We all jump in and do everything here,” says Louisiana Lagniappe Executive Chef Patrick Brown, who moved into the kitchen’s top spot earlier this year. The self-taught Baton Rouge native started working in restaurants at age 17, paying his dues as a teenager at Burger King, then later working at La Madeleine, Café Americain and Parrain’s. Eight years ago, Brown joined the kitchen staff at Louisiana Lagniappe and says he was immediately drawn in by the restaurant’s made-from-scratch M.O. “We do all our own sauces,” he says. “We’re getting in whole fresh fish a few times a week that we break down here. It’s been a great place to work.” Now at the helm, Brown has added his wildly popular fish tacos to the menu, a version with fried grouper, fire-roasted corn and cumin butter. He’s also been making his own pork boudin, served as a fried boudin ball with remoulade sauce appetizer, or an entrée stuffed in rabbit loin with Creole mustard sauce. Brown says he reads cookbooks voraciously, and is constantly searching for ways to reinterpret classic Louisiana cuisine, like his shrimp and grits, which places fresh Gulf shrimp in a smoked tomato macque choux served over a cheddar grit cake pan-fried in Japanese bread crumbs. “It’s really important to me to work hard and create the best-tasting dishes possible.”—Maggie Heyn Richardson