(jazz music)
- The seasons of New Orleans are oysters,
crawfish, crab, and shrimp.
- [Michael] We do a Southern twist on food we really enjoy.
We try to make sure everything we do is grounded,
in some way, in South Louisiana,
whether it be an ingredient or a technique.
It's just balancing what your vision is as a chef
and then making sure that also translates to the guests.
- I'm Kristen Essig.
- And I'm Michael Stoltzfus.
- And we're at Coquette in New Orleans
and this is Where Hollywood Eats.
(piano jazz music)
(car motors running)
- When people walk out of our restaurant,
I want them to feel as if they are leaving
an extension of their dining room or their living room.
It's the kind of space where, for example,
Oprah joined us a while back and no one bothered her at all.
I think we're more of a refuge for them
than anything else, and I think
that's a fantastic opportunity.
I think everybody just needs a break.
- If you would like to come back Oprah.
- (laughs) Yeah.
- [Michael] I think we both recognize
that we compliment each other really well.
Working together, creating something
that we are both really happy with,
but that neither of us would have come up with on our own.
- I like to say we're partners in life and love,
and we learn from each other quite a bit.
He'll contribute a flavor profile that I hadn't thought of
or a textural component that I had not thought of before
and it ends up being a really layered dish,
and that's how a lot of our dishes come through at Coquette.
- It kind of looks like squid ink pasta, but it's not.
We burn scallions on a grill,
we dehydrate that, puree it,
incorporate that into our pasta.
It's just such a fun flavor
'cause its still got that oniony sweetness to it,
but it's got a nice bitter finish
and it rounds out really nicely.
A couple of changes today.
We have the duck wings are off.
Gumbo's the same.
Everyone's still digging the gumbo?
- [Group] (mumbles)
- Good.
The reason we did the smaller menu is
we can constantly change it as we need to
and not feel beholden to a certain ingredient.
That's the best part about having these purveyors down here.
- [Kristen] Hi, Steve.
- [Michael] We work with them every season,
just say, "Hey, we would like to see this, this, or this,"
or, "We never had this before."
"Can you trying growing this here?"
- Could that be any bigger?
That's a big brussels sprout.
Baby cabbages.
We'll use these on the head cheese today.
It's part of the dish.
We are so privileged to have
this year-round growing season, practically.
It's almost silly to not take advantage of the fact
that they've got amazing turnips
or amazing carrots or strawberries.
How about those radishes?
- [Michael] Having those kinds of relationships
are really important
because they're mostly small families.
We get the ability to interact with them
and be a part of their life, which is great.
(trumpet plays)
I like people to be surprised when they get food.
Hopefully in a good way.
- Yeah.
(Michael laughs)
- [Michael] This is hogs head cheese with bowfin roe
and shaved brussels sprouts.
Hogs head cheese is not cheese.
It is actually pig's head that we cook down
or simmer overnight and we take all the meat off of it
and then we form it back into a terrine,
and in this case, were then cut into cubes
and deep frying them.
- We shred everything off.
Ears, tongue, everything comes out.
It's gonna have this really gelatinous, creamy inside.
It then gets mixed with some cooked mirepoix,
carrot, onion, and celery.
We're pairing it with a sort of creamy, gribiche.
So, gribiche is a classic French egg salad.
So, we emulsify the hard-cooked yolks into the base,
which is a mayonnaise base.
We pair it with a little bit of fermented brussels sprouts
and then fresh brussels sprouts.
It really just adds just the right amount of funk.
Then we top it after it's been fried with some bowfin roe.
- So, bowfin roe is like a Louisiana caviar.
It really rounds out the dish.
The hogs head is really fatty and very assertive,
so this just brings like a nice, sweet salinity to the dish.
This is actually one of my favorite dishes.
- So, I think the thing that inspires me the most
about cooking and working and living in New Orleans
is that it's such a culture
that you actually participate in.
It's not something that you watch.
It's something that you join in.
You don't just watch a second line go by.
You are in the second line.
Get in there. Dance.
You participate in it and you get out of it
what you put into it.
And that's what's really fantastic about New Orleans.
You can take as little or as much as you want away from it,
but you have to participate.
(trumpets playing)
(piano music)
- I always try to take a moment in the middle of service
to walk through the front door in the middle of service
and see what it feels like and be like, "Wow."
It's a really fantastic thing
to see people enjoying what you do.
- I know. I love the bowfin roe,
but the pasta is super flavorful.
- I like the gumbo with the potato salad.
- Really like the fact that we've become a part
of our diners' lives.
He was suspended.
He's now a doctor.
(laughter)
I'm so excited for you.
I almost want to go to the hospital.
Almost.
(light piano and string music)