Chef Austin Kirzner loves his native New Orleans. He loves the food, he digs the vibe and he relishes the decades he spent honing his culinary skills in the kitchens of places including Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street and Commander’s Palace.
“Those places made me into the chef I am today,” he said.
But there comes a time in most New Orleanians’ life in which those late nights begin to wear thin, the mornings after begin to feel more difficult to endure – and thoughts of starting a family begin to supplant the more hedonistic temptations of youth.
Which is how Chef Kirzner – like so many others – ended up on the Northshore, raising a young family.
More to the point, it’s how he ended up as executive chef of the restaurant at Covey Rise Lodge, the sprawling farm, wedding venue and luxury hunting retreat just over the Tangipahoa Parish line in Husser.
On Monday (Sept. 23), he became the latest local chef to participate in Healthier Northshore’s quarterly Eat Well, Live Well cooking demonstration series, which walks participants through a home-grown recipe – this time Shrimp Creole – before sending them home with a box of all the ingredients needed to re-create the dish at home.
In keeping with the Eat Well, Live Well series’ ethos, Chef Kirzner’s version of Shrimp Creole makes good use of local, fresh-from-the-garden vegetables from Covey Rise’s 75-acre farm, which supplies the produce for restaurants throughout the metro area.
It also emphasizes good health – with cauliflower rice replacing the usual carb-heavy white rice, for example – and the use of local products whenever possible.
That, of course, includes local produce, one of Covey Rise Farm’s specialties, but it’s also just as applicable to buying seafood.
“As everyone in this room knows, we’re blessed,” Chef Kirzner told those gathered for the Sept. 23 demo in the Samaritan Center kitchen classroom in Old Mandeville. “We’re 300 yards from the lake right now. Those guys out on the side of the road? Stop. Buy something from them. They have all the flavors we’re looking for.”
Find Chef Kizner's recipe below. You can also click here for a printer-friendly PDF version.
This latest installment of the Eat Well, Live Well cooking series was made possible through support from St. Tammany Health System, the Samaritan Center, Covey Rise Farms and the Healthier Northshore coalition. Learn more about the initiative at HealthierNorthshore.health.