Chef Celeste Gill

Sponsored by Southside Gardens

It’s more than easy to bump into an excellent menu on Perkins Road near LSU—one of several culinary centers of gravity around Baton Rouge—but Chef Celeste Gill’s kitchen talents at Southside Gardens Retirement & Assisted Living Center are particularly strong proof that great food can be found in every inch of the city, even where we may not expect it.

Chef Celeste has made a long career of earning her place in the culinary world. From her first rounds in a restaurant at age 3, and well into her teenage years volunteering to cater her friends’ parties, her mother and grandmother’s love of cooking followed her from her native Detroit all the way to Hawaii—where, despite other plans, she ended up majoring in food science. “I went to school for everything else but cooking,” said Gill with a laugh. “I took a leisure baking class, and after that, I changed my major. I can’t even say it was because of anything we made—it just brought out all those feelings and the love of food I already had.”

Several of her own restaurants, a catering business, her own television show, and a branded line of culinary items later, Gill has perfected her skills and maintains her dedication to the freshest and most local ingredients she can find here in South Louisiana. She takes special pride in creating the best nutritious meals possible—Chef Celeste-style, of course—at Southside Gardens, and has done so for over a decade with the help of her long-trusted kitchen staff there. “I like to bring the restaurant feel to the residents and guests at Southside Gardens,” explained Gill. “I pay attention to the way it’s presented, the flavors, the freshness, and the nutritional content.”

When Gill arrives to work at Southside Gardens, she gets straight to it; making sure things are in stock,  ensuring that meals are prepared in time for service, and giving the dining room a once-over for quality control. Every six weeks, she and her staff rewrite the menus, and Gill asks the residents for suggestions of what they’d like to see.

Sometimes, said Gill, it’s a challenge to create menus that appeal to all the residents’ palates—“We have residents from all over,” she explained—but Gill welcomes the opportunity.

“Whether you’re from Michigan or Kentucky, we like to give the food that Louisiana flair,” she said, noting that some people prefer fried chicken with their red beans and rice rather than sausage, and she’s happy to oblige. “We normally have two choices for each protein and side, which gives them the opportunity to create their own personalized menu that day.”

Everything about mealtimes in Southside Gardens’ dining area, from presentation to service to freshness, is in the style of Chef Celeste—including the little bit of extra love she throws in.

“We plate the meals so that when you see a plate, you know it was done with love, and that’s what we want everyone to leave here with,” said Gill.

Her duties at Southside Gardens share some things in common with typical restaurant service, but here, Gill has a unique opportunity in the culinary world in that she serves many of the same people every day. In that way, it’s a more intimate environment for a chef—and the residents never fail to send their compliments her way. “It feels like family. The residents make everything enjoyable,” said Gill. “They appreciate the meals, the presentation on the plates, the parties that we do. It’s very gratifying to know that you’re appreciated.”

Appreciation aside, Gill is able to truly see their sincerity when residents decide to dine in rather than go out to one of the many iconic restaurants in the area. And they tell her so. “When I hear something like that, it makes me so happy, because that’s my goal right there,” she gushed. “We put out the best possible restaurant-quality meals for residents, their guests, and our staff; and at the end of the day, it’s good food and it’s good people.”

Southside Gardens Retirement & Assisted Living Center

4604 Perkins Road

Baton Rouge, La.

(225) 922-9923 

southsidegardens.com

In addition to the dining room at Southside Gardens, Chef Celeste Gill’s famous fare can be sampled at either of her two Chef Celeste Bistro locations: inside Main Street Market at 501 North 5th Street, and inside The Neuromedical Center (near Perkins Rowe) at 10101 Park Rowe Avenue.

Peruse Gill’s famous honey mustard, her Cajun-inspired seasonings and gumbo mixes, chef-approved cooking utensils and more, at either of her Bistro locations or at chefceleste.com.