A Little Something Extra for You

Dear Pros,

Kat here. Greetings from New Orleans. I can't and won't pretend it isn't exceptionally stressful out in the world right now. I am lucky enough to be in one of my favorite cities in the world, communing with restaurant folks I hold dear — people like Frank Brigtsen and Kelly Jacques, who are members of the first and most recent F&W Best New Chefs classes, respectively, and who embody the spirit of mentorship; Lydia Castro, who does meaningful and protective work for vulnerable hospitality workers at her restaurant, Acamaya (which she co-owns with her sister, Ana, a 2022 F&W Best New Chef) and beyond; and Amanda Toups, who co-founded the hunger relief organization Family Meal with her husband and Top Chef fan favorite Isaac Toups. I have been to the restaurant Pêche approximately 70,000 times, and still I made sure to squeeze in a visit last night because 2024 F&W Best New Chef Nicole Cabrera Mills and her team create food and experiences that sustain my soul for the 360-odd days that I'm not at a table there.

And yesterday morning, I went to Lagniappe Bakehouse. It's the manifested dream of baker Kaitlin Guerin and her partner, filmmaker Lino Asana. After several years of pop-ups and selling pastries from her windowsill, her creations became some of the most sought-after treats in the city. They finally set up shop in 2024 at a slender, dreamy, lime-washed space in the historic Central City neighborhood, and the bakery is everything that I think is right with America.

Sitting with a few friends at a corner table laden with every item on the menu, I watched as a broad and beautiful cross-section of humans queued up affably for their chance to stand in the sunbeam welcome of the worker at the counter, and take in the array of almost comically photogenic croissants, grains of paradise buns, benne cookies, buttermilk biscuits, and beyond. If these had just been the technical exemplars that they are (the shatter on those croissants!) they'd have been a joy, but Guerin brings her whole self to bear in these treats.

The New Orleans native trained as a modern dancer in upstate New York, practiced her craft in the Bay Area, and found herself drawn to the art of pastry. She formally enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone campus, did an externship at the highly experimental Noma offshoot 108 in Copenhagen, then honed her skills at Michelin-starred restaurants back in the States — including 2003 F&W Best New Chef Stuart Brioza's State Bird Provisions and The Progress.

A visit back home to New Orleans in February 2020 turned into a much longer stay, and Guerin began stress-baking for friends, then formed an entrepreneurial vision. Her creations at Lagniappe Bakehouse marry global techniques (executed at a nosebleed-high level) with ingredients from the South and the Black diaspora to create something both classical and wholly new, and pleasurable at every level. A fluted nest of laminated layers nestles sweet potato custard, miso caramel, and angelic Italian meringue. A signature "alligator claw" is a play on a Southern bear claw, and may be sweet or savory within, but it's coated with poppy seeds and benne seeds, as well as alligator pepper — a distinctively West African spice. It's in this intentional, wild, close-your-eyes-and-sigh-in-your-seat meld of flavors and traditions that the magic happens.

As I write this, the most recent post on Lagniappe's Instagram states that, as an immigrant co-owned business, this moment in time is deeply personal, and they stand in solidarity with their community. As moved as I am by that exquisite food, the human beings behind this bakery and all the places that feed, shelter, employ, entertain, and provide solace to so many are the single best thing about this country. "Lagniappe" is a term that means a little something extra — a bonus gift given freely. If you happen to have that to spare right now, plenty of your fellow Pros could use it.

As always, the Southern Smoke Foundation is providing emergency and mental health resources to industry workers, the Immigrant Defense Project and the Acacia Center for Justice are there to help people understand their rights, and countless restaurants and hospitality groups are coordinating efforts locally. Please feel free to reach out and let my colleagues and me know what's going on in your world.

Stay safe out there,
Kat