After cookbook release, chef Eric Cook's next project is reopening Saint John
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Chef Eric Cook, right, penned his first cookbook, "Modern Creole," and looks to reopen Saint John in the CBD. Photo: Sam Hanna
New Orleans chef Eric Cook reopens Saint John on Friday in a new space, leaving behind a French Quarter address fraught with frustration over utilities and foot traffic.
Why it matters: After the release of his first cookbook last week, "Modern Creole," Cook hopes the opening is just the next stepping stone in a major profile rise for the Arabi-raised chef.
Catch up quick: Cook made a name for himself after serving in the Marine Corps, an experience he says drilled into him the discipline he needed to be successful in New Orleans kitchens.
- With stints at Brennan's, Commander's Palace, the WWII Museum's American Sector and Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House behind him, Cook opened Gris-Gris in 2018.
- The casual Lower Garden District spot became popular for its south Louisiana staples, especially the gumbo.
- Saint John followed in 2021, opening in a slightly more upscale Decatur Street spot.
What they're saying: "New Orleans is such a historical city … with so many great stories to tell," Cook tells Axios New Orleans. "Saint John was a story that we feel came to us to tell and it happened the second we walked in the building."
- Gris-Gris, Cook says, was built around memories of his parents, but Saint John moved that story forward by honoring meals that were the centerpiece of family celebrations.
- But the location was tough. The challenges even went viral when the chef suddenly decided to close — and then reopen — the restaurant over frustrations with Entergy New Orleans, before finally closing earlier this summer.
- "Leaving it was nothing short of saying goodbye to a loved one," Cook says.
Dig in: Much of the menu at Saint John 2.0 will be the same, Cook says, like the Creole beef daube and the oysters Saint John, with some updates inspired by the restaurant's rebirth and chef de cuisine Darren Chabert.
- "The showstopper," Cook says, will be a veal chop Parmesan that tips a cap to old school restaurants like Rocky and Carlo's. It'll be served with "New Orleans red gravy and melty cheese."
The vibe: Saint John's new CBD location was formerly Le Chat Noir, a short-lived French restaurant.
- But before that, it was a cabaret theater with the same name, so it was easy for Cook's wife, Robyn, to connect with the space and tap into that history in designing the renewed version of Saint John, he says.
- "Really it was a matter of giving it a soul," Cook says. "It had this great history, and it needed just to have our energy in the building."
The bottom line: "Creole cooking has been a part of this city's history for so, so long," Cook says, "and it's going to be a tremendous part of its future because it's what binds us together and keeps bringing the world back to our table."
If you go: Reserve a table through Resy.