Eric Cook on Why His Grandmother’s Cookbooks Are the Best

The New Orleans chef shares what went into making his first cookbook

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Native Louisianian Eric Cook has worked at classic New Orleans restaurants like Brennan’s and Commander’s Palace and now runs two of the city’s beloved, Gris-Gris and Saint John—but he also grew up eating the home-cooked meals of St. Bernard Parish, where hunting, fishing, and catching are a way of life and gumbo and wild game were in regular rotation. The Marine-turned-chef lives and breathes Creole food, and his first book, Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine (Gibbs Smith, 2024), is a love letter to the region and its foodways. Recipes like wild duck cassoulet, hot shrimp remoulade with fried green tomatoes, and oysters étouffée will bring you right down to the Crescent City. We caught up with Cook to hear more about his inspiration, his favorite types of cookbooks, and what’s always in his fridge.  

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The Local Palate: What do you hope readers take from this cookbook? 

Eric Cook: The direction of the culinary world seems to be constantly changing and evolving as the popularity of cooking shows and television drives the popularity of modern cooking, but our Creole heritage of family recipes and shared memories keeps our uniquely local style of cooking in the forefront of home kitchens and modern restaurants to this day. I hope this book brings families back to the kitchen table to teach and share their own family recipes and create new memories for generations to come, and keep our storied and delicious past alive and well long into the future.

TLP: What was the most challenging part about writing Modern Creole? 

EC: Cooking has always been a very emotional process. It’s a sharing of techniques and methods that are sometimes hard to put into words, [and] I don’t think we had recipes in the restaurant until this book got started. It’s always been a very hands-on, side-by-side situation. We would call it “the move.” “Hey, what’s the move on the bread pudding?” And from there it became a process of sights, smells, and even sounds. So putting all that emotion and senses into words was definitely the most difficult thing.  

TLP: Aside from your own recipes, what was your go-to snack or meal after a day of recipe testing for the book? 

EC: The days were extremely long, and as exciting as the process of creating a book is, it still required work. Yuck. But we definitely discovered a few favorites along the way. French fries dipped in Caesar dressing was the daily go-to, but once we got to the grilled feta cheese for the salad portion of the book, I think we ate a dangerous amount of feta. 

TLP: What is the most beloved cookbook on your shelf and why? 

EC: My favorite books have always been the ones I have saved from my grandmother. She always wrote notes in the spaces of every book, and when I pick them up and read through them, it’s like having a conversation with her in my kitchen. She loved Julia Child and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Always my number one.

TLP: Can’t-live-without cooking tool? 

EC: Wooden spoon. Older the better.

TLP: What five things are always in your fridge?

EC: Whole milk. Lots of cheese. Homemade fig jam. Bacon. And more bacon.