Dining

Just about every city in America observes the holiday season with celebrations and activities, some with parades, festivals, group caroling, exterior home decorations, faith-based gatherings and other events… all in the holiday spirit.

In New Orleans, these same traditions are practiced; however, just about every holiday event is eventually focused on fine food and wine or other libations.

Upon appearance, Nicholas Scalco may appear more like a top-notch athlete than an acclaimed chef, but then, both profiles are correct.

An experienced, well-trained, across-the-globe Ironman triathlon participant, Scalco is also the chef de cuisine at Irene’s Cuisine, the beloved restaurant founded by his mother, Chef-Owner Irene DePietro, nearly 25 years ago.

People move from one city to another for a variety of reasons. Often, the move is for love, either the love of a new place or the love of a special someone.

Chef Phillip Todd was twice lucky. He fell in love with a wonderful girl who is a native New Orleanian. Todd embraced both the girl and the city because he always wanted to be a chef and what better place in the world than New Orleans to practice his craft.

Chef Steven Young is a natural-born chef. A native of New Orleans’ West Bank of the Mississippi River, he grew up in a family of 9 children.

“My mother and grandmother were excellent cooks,” he said. “I was about 7 when I began hanging out in the kitchen watching and sampling, with all those wonderful aromas of gumbo, red beans, soul food and other local traditional New Orleans cooking,” Young recalled.

The sudden loss of world -renowned chef, author and entrepreneur, Paul Prudhomme, in October was a devastating blow to his family, the state of Louisiana, the culinary community and to the millions of people who knew and loved him. Yet, there’s still two Chef Pauls in K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen -- Executive Chef Paul Miller and the spirited presence of his mentor, kitchen collaborator and close friend.

As head chef for K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, the celebrated restaurant Prudhomme and his late wife, K, founded in 1979, Miller keeps the establishment cookin’ in more ways than one.