My husband and I did a few drive-thru pop-ups to help pay the bills until we were able to reopen for to-go and limited seating in the restaurants. You go from spending so much time together and being responsible for their financial well-being, and all of a sudden, you’re hopeless to help. Originally, we had to shut down completely and lay off the staff of both restaurants which was heartbreaking. How have you had to pivot to respond to COVID-19 for your businesses? The shift in kitchen culture nowadays is a welcome change for those coming up, but it will always be a high intensity environment. Fortunately for me, I was in very professional kitchens surrounded by high achievers and, for the most part, put my head down and worked as hard as anyone. There wasn’t the awareness we have today about a work/life balance, let alone the etiquette experienced in the normal world. It was definitely not for the faint of heart when I was starting out. What was your experience as you pushed through your career? What inspired you to persevere? Rising up the ranks in the foodservice industry can be unforgiving and uninviting for women. The opportunities to work for and learn from these chefs are special: Working with Daniel Boulud and Alex Lee right out of school was a wonderful push in my desire to exceed Norman Van Aken showed me how to take the humble ingredients I’d grown up with and elevate their preparation and presentation Scott Conant taught me the beauty of Italian cuisine, making pastas, and the simplicity of perfect ingredients. They all mean a great deal, and it’s nice to be recognized. Can you share which one of your accolades carry a significant sense of achievement and why? You have had such a formidable career path.
Then, hopefully, as you eat you realize how much thought is put into the preparation of your meal. If you haven’t dined with us before, you’ll see a server in jeans serving a table with no tablecloth, bread service is a wonderful buttermilk biscuit with two different compound butters, and you feel comfortable. We could have served the same dishes on bone china with service staff in tuxedos, but that would have felt too stuffy and not fun at all. I’m serving food and drinks of complexity in a very casual environment. I think the way we present the meal to the guests is where the playfulness comes in. How have the stories influenced the concept and menu of your restaurant? I went to The Culinary Institute of America to study and then made it a point to work with the best chefs I could to learn more.Ĭombining all of the technique and philosophies of different cuisines, I was able to meld those to my childhood memories of food and create something I’m proud of.Ĭompère Lapin is the name of a mischievous rabbit in Caribbean and Creole folktales. I had originally wanted to go into agriculture, but after realizing how my family came together over meals and cooking with my mum and granny, I decided that I wanted to cook. Farm to table wasn’t a trend, it was how we thought everyone ate. My father owned a farm in the southern part of the island and we had numerous fruit trees in our yard at home. I was the middle of five children in a close family on a beautiful Caribbean island so you could say it was ideal. Can you please tell us about your heritage and your upbringing? How did it influence your career path as a chef and the food you wanted to cook? Today as so many chefs and restauranteurs struggle to battle the effects of COVID-19, push against racism, and simply avoid rust from developing by not cooking daily, Chef Compton discusses how she and her husband and business partner, Larry Miller, work to stay afloat and continue to serve the community. Winning a prestigious James Beard Award in 2018, Chef Compton is the first Black woman to win Best Chef: South. She has gone on to open her decorated restaurants, Compère Lapin and Bywater American Bistro. Using her classical training and Caribbean roots, chef-owner Nina Compton rose through BRAVO TV’s “Top Chef” season 11 in New Orleans as the runner-up and fan favorite.
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