Chef Kelly English talks Le Bon Appétit’s culinary tradition
Chef Kelly English is the guest on this week’s “Sound Bites”. (Natalie Van Gundy/The Daily Memphian file)
For years, Memphis chef Kelly English was invited to cook at culinary events in other states. These events would often benefit charitable groups, but he sometimes felt disconnected from those groups because of the way things were organized.
“I’m there, and I know it’s for a good cause. But I have no clue really what the cause is,” he said.
He kept this top of mind when he helped plan the first Le Bon Appetit in 2012, a biennial benefit for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital that has raised more than $1 million.
Local and out-of-town chefs who participate will spend time in Memphis and tour Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and its neonatal intensive care unit. They’ll also cook breakfast for patients and their families at the FedExFamilyHouse.
On June 6, English is helping host 28 of these chefs and four mixologists. He joined me on this week’s “Sound Bites” to talk about the event and why he is involved. Listen to the full interview at the bottom of this story.
Le Bonheur is a cause that’s important to English. On this episode of “Sound Bites”, he shared a story from his childhood and how that experience inspires him to support the hospital.
“I was never a patient there, but I needed it,” he said.
Le Bon Appétit is Saturday, June 6, at 6 p.m. at The Kent at 61 Keel Ave. If the main tickets are a bit above your budget, go for the After Party tickets. They are available for purchase online.
‘A top Memphis food festival’
As for Le Bon Appétit, I attended for the first time in 2024. In my view, the variety of local and visiting chefs, abundance and quality of food and all the additional bells and whistles — a good venue, entertainment, an after-party option — make it one of the top Memphis food festivals.
A volunteer, left, helps New Orleans-based chef Michael Gulotta serve a squid-ink seafood pasta at Le Bon Appétit in 2024. (Holly Whitfield/The Daily Memphian file)
Guests were treated to a dizzying array of samples. Chef Ryan Prewitt of New Orleans’ Peche offered a crisp rice cake topped with yellowfin tuna, chiles and dried shrimp.
I haven’t stopped thinking about the squid-ink pasta with a tangy red sauce tossed with crab and sausage prepared by Chef Michael Gulotta, also of New Orleans.
Chef Karen Carrier’s table had a pile of grilled saffron shrimp served with an aromatic coconut, lime and lemongrass broth.
The Good Fortune Co. crew made a delicious five-spice dry rub pork on a sweet, fluffy bao with pickled onions.
This year, Chef Joshua Mutchnick of JEM restaurant will make his Le Bon Appétit debut.
“Being a part of the community is part of JEM’s DNA, and this is one of the big events in Memphis that all the chefs are a part of,” Mutchnick said on a call with me this week. “It’s a big honor to be a part of this.”
Mutchnick has been perfecting a s’mores-inspired dessert and plans to share the latest iteration on June 6 at Le Bon Appétit.
“I wanted to do something fun that evokes childhood memories while also being elevated, which is kind of what we do (at JEM),” Mutchnick said.
He’ll place a slice of foie gras torchon on a homemade graham cracker then layer a fig and smoky lapsang souchong tea puree with a chicory fluff and a dark chocolate tuile. It’s an elaborate-sounding bite.
“It’s JEM, so it’s going to get a bit weird,” he said.
The Edge District restaurant marked its two-year anniversary in late April.
Muddy’s Bake Shop founder Kat Gordon (left), pictured here at the 2024 Le Bon Appétit with husband Thomas Robinson, will return as a guest chef for the 2026 event. (Holly Whitfield/The Daily Memphian file)
Sarah Cai and Arturo Leighton of Good Fortune Co. are once again hosts for the After Party where the Secret Smash Society folks will grill up some smashburgers and bartenders from Bar Limina and the forthcoming Gussied Up will mix up drinks.
The Rebirth Brass Band will perform, and there will be a live painting from Frances Berry. Ash & Ember have a “big grill” up for auction that comes with a special surprise that English reveals on the podcast.
Second Lines moves to East Memphis, and change is hard
On the podcast, English and I talked honestly about the feedback the new Second Line has received online and how English responds to reviews and comments. Relatedly, we talked about the problems the public — or at least some keyboard warriors — can have when restaurants make necessary updates or changes.
“The two biggest complaints I get … are that either things never change or things are changing,” he said. “If people truly don’t want things to change, support them more as they are.”
We also talked about English’s secret passion for trees, our opinions on decluttering, gratitude and, once again, lanyards.
“It’s impossible to sound cool when you say the sentence, ‘Where’s my lanyard?’” English said.
Lanyard or not, if you make it to Le Bon Appétit this year, be sure to say hello to The Daily Memphian staffers covering the event.
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Topics
Sound Bites Le Bon Appetit Chef Kelly EnglishHolly Whitfield
Holly has more than 13 years of experience in publishing and digital content, including 10 years at the helm of the I Love Memphis Blog. She began her career at The Commercial Appeal and is author of Secret Memphis.
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