John Folse
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John Folse (born 1946, St. James Parish, Louisiana) is a noted Louisiana chef and restaurant owner, and a leading authority on Cajun and Creole cuisine and culture.
In 1978, Folse opened Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant in the historic Viala Plantation House in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The house and restaurant were destroyed by fire in 1998. In May 1999, Folse opened his former Donaldsonville home as the new Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant at Bittersweet Plantation, offering fine dining and bed and breakfast accommodations.
In 1989, Folse was the first non-Italian chef to cater a Vatican State Dinner in Rome.
The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana opened in October 1994 and is dedicated to the preservation of Louisiana's rich culinary and cultural heritage.
“A Taste of Louisiana” is Folse’s international television series produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting since 1990. In August 1996 Folse began broadcasting his radio cooking talk show, “Stirrin’ It Up.” In 2001, “Stirrin’ It Up” expanded to a television cooking segment during the 5 p.m. newscast on WAFB-TV Channel 9, the Baton Rouge CBS affiliate.
Folse has received numerous national and international culinary awards, including the American Culinary Federation's “National Chef of the Year” in 1990. In 1994 he was selected as national president of the American Culinary Federation, the largest organization of professional chefs in America. The ACF Louisiana chapter inducted Folse into its “Chef's Hall of Fame” in 1999. In November 1999 the Acadiana Chapter of the American Culinary Federation inducted Folse into the Louisiana Chef's Hall of Fame for his lifetime contributions to the promotion of Louisiana cuisine. In 2006, the National Restaurant Association inducted Folse into its College of Diplomates. Additionally, Folse received the Antonin Careme Medal in November 2000 and is a member of Chaines des Rotisseurs.
Folse is the author of Chef John Folse's Plantation Celebrations (1994), a cookbook focusing on recipes whose origins can be traced to Louisiana plantations along the Mississippi River. He also co-authored Hot Beignets & Warm Boudoirs (1999), a guide to Louisiana bed-and-breakfast inns and their recipes. His latest cookbook is The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine (2004).
