Chef Gason Nelson dips a fork into the pot of salad dressing - a gingered, tangy, mayo-touched salsa of smoked tomato and onion. "I'm already thinking," Chef Gason says, rolling the flavors through his mind. "I’ll go home and smoke tomatoes, asparagus and shallots, and try it."
Chef Gason and I are sharing lunch on a sunny New Orleans patio. Weeds crawl up the funky fence, and a hot porky drift comes at us from a tall smoker just feet away. It could be your friend's backyard, except your friend can't make barbecue like The Joint.
The menu here is simple and meaty. Smoked chicken - once you peel the skin back - may the healthiest option, but today I ask for a heaping plate of pulled pork. This sultry goodness carries around 300 calories and 13 fat grams in a three-ounce serving, so go easy. You'll get at least double that on your plate at The Joint.
What I like best: the pulled pork is tender and smoky and lean - and sauceless. A shake of the vinegar bottle turns it into a Carolina 'cue, or you could opt for a peppery wash of the tomato-based sauce. My sides are a field green salad (with that awesome dressing) and sweet, nutty baked beans.
Chef Gason tries the beef brisket, which he says is "flavorful, very good. It's working. The food speaks for itself." But it's the salad dressing that he wants to recreate at home for his star client, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush:
What are some dishes you've recreated as a private chef?
Chef Gason: I’ve gone to Los Angeles with Reggie and eaten everything he eats, so I can make it for him later. Or I might get a text from Europe: "Hey, the fries here are unbelievable!" I've [recreated] Hawaiian rib eye steak, a Mexican chicken bowl, hash browns in Beverly Hills - I found out that the chef sautés the shallots until they’re translucent and sweet, mixes them with the potatoes and crusts them, then drizzles garlic olive oil on them. Ketchup would kill it.
What if the chef doesn't give you the recipe?
Chef Gason: I’ll sit down and Google it. I looked up a sweet chili garlic sauce to put on ribs, and peach cobbler that I had to make a certain way to get the crust right. It took two or three times, but I got it. For lobster ravioli, I got lobster knuckles and rolled out the dough. It opens me up to get (a new recipe), to take it and do other things.
How should your pro athlete clients eat when they go out?
Chef Gason: Different positions have different weights, like you don’t want a fat defensive lineman. You want to be in the best physical condition for your position. If I’m the coach, and you’re at your best at 170 pounds and you come in my gym at 190, you’re not coming in at your best. So at restaurants, these guys play it safe. At this level, they know how to eat.
What does good nutrition do for these athletes?
Chef Gason: When I first started working for Reggie, he wanted to gain weight. Stacey Augmon [former New Orleans Hornet] - every game he had to have pasta; he wanted sugar and carbs from the potatoes and pasta. Good nutrition keeps you regular, and keeps your weight where it needs to be.
Chef Gason: I play recreational tennis, and if I don’t eat breakfast, I feel the difference. It’s a mental thing. You want to feel good. I love food, and I’m not saying don’t have fun with food, but we overdo it. That’s where cholesterol and calories and weight come from.
What does an NFL player typically eat while he's in training? What do you cook for him?
Chef Gason: While he's in training, it’s about protein, protein, protein and more protein, any way you can get it. It speeds up your metabolism. Fiber’s good, too. You want to eat every four to five hours. A typical day during training might be a breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, orange juice. For lunch, a sweet potato, fries, salad and marinated chicken. For dinner, ribs, chicken, a baked potato and corn. Dessert could be strawberry shortcake or peach cobbler or homemade ice cream. I do it all.
You make everything?
Chef Gason: With the money that pro athletes make, they could buy anything they want, so I make it all fresh from scratch – I bake breads and make my own pasta, dressings, drinks.
How did being an Army cook prepare you for this life?
Chef Gason: I got culinary training at Ft. Jackson [Columbia, S.C.], and then I got assignments in Hawaii and Europe. Being in the Army helps you understand and better know these cultures, which is useful now when clients want certain cuisines. I want to go to Thailand and Argentina, next.
When you got out of the Army, you went through Delgado's culinary arts program as a James Beard Scholar. How did you make the leap into being a private chef?
Chef Gason: I was donating time for an Aaron Brooks fundraiser [and met some of the players.] I got a call from Stacey Augmon and cooked for him a year, then [former New Orleans Saint] Aaron Brooks picked me up. In 2005 I evacuated ahead of the storm – my daughters were 14 and three years old, so I wasn’t going to take a chance.
What Chef served Reggie for his culinary audition, and where Chef watched the Super Bowl - click here to see the second part of my interview with Chef Gason. You can hire Chef Gason Nelson as a personal chef or caterer. Contact him through his website or follow him on Twitter. He's currently writing a cookbook.
The Joint, 801 Poland Avenue (504) 949.3232
Get e-mail alerts whenever I post a new story by clicking the "subscribe" button above, and get my take on the blooming local food movement in New Orleans - farmers' markets, area growers, low-fat recipes. You can also follow me on Twitter.
Comments