Following his roots – Chef brings ‘Upscale Downsouth’ to Stroubes and New York

Chef Scott Varnedoe got his call to cook in the James Beard House for the first time in May 2010. To the Stroubes chef, the Beard awards are the pinnacle of the culinary world. While cooking in the house is not quite the same as winning one of the top awards, it still holds some exceptional prestige.

“Not to sound like a sissy, but there were tears involved,” Varnedoe says. “It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

No, it sure doesn’t. The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to celebrate, nurture and preserve America’s diverse culinary heritage and future. James Beard himself authored cookbooks and taught culinary arts and is recognized as an early champion of American cuisine. The historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village regularly gets used as a performance space for visiting chefs like Varnedoe, as well as the likes of Wolfgang Puck, the late Julia Child and many more.

Upon getting the call to cook at the exclusive house, all Varnedoe could think about was, “What am I going to do that chefs from around the world haven’t done there before?” Fortunately, all he had to do was follow his roots. His “Upscale Downsouth” motto carried him through his “Antebellum”-themed dinner, and he got a second invite in 2011. This year, Varnedoe accepted an invitation to cook the Thanksgiving Dinner.

In Baton Rouge, Varnedoe commands the kitchen of the Third Street restaurant, and his baseball cap and sunglasses on Croakies shouldn’t fool you—the man means business.

Like many, he worked restaurant jobs for money during college. Eventually he figured out that he had a talent in the kitchen, loved it, and never looked back. He worked a stint with famed Louisiana Chef John Folse, which would eventually help him prepare for cooking at the Beard House. “People crave Louisiana food … the flavors, the stories, the culture,” he says.

The self-taught and restaurant-tested chef adds to the Baton Rouge culinary scene in a way that few others do. Stroubes recently became one of three Red Stick eateries to rank in Urbanspoon’s top 250 fine dining restaurants in the country. On a late summer trip, the stark contrast of two of his dishes was astounding. On one side of the table, the chef put together an Asian Cajun tuna featuring an Asian-spiced and blackened tuna filet atop stir-fried crawfish risotto and sesame sautéed baby spinach. He then delivered a Southern fried chicken dish that featured sweet potato waffles with Steen’s cane syrup and bacon pecan butter. The spicy and savory tuna dish sitting next to the rustic chicken and waffles didn’t seem out of place under Varnedoe’s care.

While Varnedoe was still working on the menu for the Thanksgiving Dinner at the James Beard House when I spoke to him for this story, he did hint that there would be a dish he’s calling “Turkquailen.” The breasts from three birds will affix to each other using molecular gastronomy as Varnedoe intended to add modernist cuisine to his “Upscale Downsouth” mantra. Throw in a little collard green soufflé and cranberry foam, and those New Yorkers probably didn’t know what hit them.

Jay D. Ducote is the author of the food and beverage blog Bite and Booze, host of the Bite and Booze Radio Show and co-host of Raise a Glass. You can find him online at biteandbooze.com.