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Alternative method: If using an electric stove or if you are uncomfortable with flaming, sprinkle rum onto bananas after cooking as they are cooling on the plate.

Garnish

6 to 8 fresh ripe figs, washed and sliced about 1/4 inch thick

Silver leaf for garnish

How to Plate: Place a large spoonful of cold Chocolate Sauce just off-center on each plate. Place the first Chocolate Disk on the edge of the sauce to keep it from sliding. Place 2 or 3 slices of room-temperature Sautéed Bananas on the disk, and then place another disk of chocolate on top with 2 or 3 slices of fresh fig. Place a third disk of chocolate over fig slices, and then repeat with another layer of bananas and 1 more disk of chocolate. (To have the disks slightly off-set as the “tower” is built, place each disk slightly backward from the one below it, and then anchor the back of the tower with a large fresh blackberry or piece of fig to prop the top disks securely.) Spoon a drop of Chocolate Sauce on the top disk and garnish with a piece of silver leaf. Add 2 or 3 Brandied Cherries and drops of the Blackberry Coulis on each side to finish.

NOTE: This recipe will take overnight steps.

John Besh

“No matter what you cook, cook it from the heart. Imagine every dish you prepare is being served to your lover!”

John Besh grew up in southern Louisiana, and his cooking is deeply rooted in the traditions and flavors of the bayou. At an early age, he learned the essentials of Louisiana’s rich culinary traditions by working in commercial kitchens. He followed his palate around the world, exploring the far-flung ingredients that now infuse his French cuisine at Restaurant August. Besh attended the Culinary Institute of America and, following apprenticeships in Germany and France, he led a squad of infantry marines in combat during Operation Desert Storm as a non-commissioned officer of the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

Since Hurricane Katrina, Besh has changed the way America thinks about food. He has renewed his previous commitment to buying locally to help invigorate the city and a food culture he loves. He served more than 3,000 meals daily to the St. Bernard Parrish civil servants and workers of local refineries and has helped to rebuild the venerable Willie Mae’s Scotch House in the Treme neighborhood. He has also served as educational director of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, is a member of the Southern Food Alliance, and has served as a board member of the Southern Food and Beverage Association. In 1999, Food & Wine magazine named John Besh one of the Top 10 Best Chefs in America. In 2006, the James Beard Foundation named him Best Chef: Southeast, and he was victorious as the first New Orleans chef to compete against Mario Batali on Food Network’s Iron Chef. Gourmet has ranked Restaurant August as 22nd in its Top 50 Restaurants in the United States, and Gayot has named it a Top 40 Restaurant in the U.S. His other restaurants in New Orleans are Besh Steak in Harrah’s New Orleans Casino, Lüke, and La Provence. He is working on his first cookbook, My New Orleans.

August Chop Salad

Serves 6

3 golden beets

3 Chioggia beets

3 red beets

1 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup whole chanterelle mushrooms

6 baby carrots, different sizes and colors

6 baby turnips

1 small Yukon gold potato, peeled and punched out with circle cutter

6 stalks asparagus

1-1/2 quarts canola oil, for blanching artichokes

2 artichokes, cleaned and choke removed

1 bulb fennel

2 small radishes

1 Japanese eggplant

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1/2 grapefruit, sectioned

1 satsuma orange, sectioned

1 seedless cucumber (English or hothouse), peeled and scooped into small balls

1 cup sunflower sprouts

1 cup pea sprouts

1 sprig fresh dill

1 sprig fresh chervil

Place each type of beet in separate pots of water and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer until fork tender. While beets are cooking, make a marinade by placing vinegar and sugar in a separate pot and warm until sugar has dissolved;