The Chef

Broussard’s is a favorite dining destination among locals and visitors alike, and is legendary for its classic New Orleans cuisine, fine wines, extensive selection of after-dinner drinks and cigars, and first-rate service.

Chef-owner Gunter Preuss and his lovely wife Evelyn restored Broussard’s to its historic charm and culinary superiority after a long string of accomplishments that included their elegant Versalles Restaurant on St. Charles Avenue, which was considered to be among New Orleans’ finest uptown dining havens for 20 years.

While native Berliner Gunter Preuss is an award-winning chef (having cooked for countless celebrities and world figures, including John Paul II), his wife Evelyn is known as one of the city’s most charming hostesses. The Preuss’ youngest son Marc serves as Broussard’s general manager, and runs the restaurant like a tight ship. Marc was educated at one of the finest hotel schools in Europe and honed his management skills at the Ritz Carlton and at the famed Sun City Resort in South Africa. Hence, he demands the highest service standards from his staff.

Chef Preuss has been profiled in the “Great Chefs of New Orleans” series on PBS, and has been the recipient of both Mobil Guide and Travel Holiday awards, the prestigious DiRoNA award presented to Broussards, the only restaurant in Louisiana to win the coveted award in 1998, the Ivy Award, and the most recent 2001 Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame.

The criteria for being nominated for the Fine Dining Hall of Fame include excellence in food quality, service, ambiance and leadership in staff training an motivation.

The results can be seen on the faces of diners who enjoy attentive service while sampling such signature items as pompano Napoleon (grilled pompano with pepper crusted scallops and shrimp with puff pastry laced with a mustard caper sauce), the famous Louisiana bouillabaisse (a medley of plump oysters Gulf shrimp and fresh fish in a luscious tomato broth flavored with saffron and topped with crabmeat and rouille croutons), and the delectable veal Broussard (a veal chop seasoned with Creole mustard atop leeks, embellished with a beurre blanc and a fragrant port demi-glace).

Desserts warrant their own menu. Be sure to sample the classics such as bananas Foster, made with fresh bananas sautéed in rum, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, and served over vanilla ice cream. End dinner with a cafe Garabidi with Amaretto and Brandy, or try an incomparable cup of espresso by Illy Coffee. After such a feast, you will leave as if on a cloud, with the memory of elegant cuisine and the scent of jasmine and wisteria lingering in the air. 

Meet Tory

As Chef de Cuisine of the famed Broussard’s Restaurant, Chef Tory Stewart brings a Gulf Coast sensibility and classical training, to ninety years of Creole tradition, European legacy and culinary perfection, for which the multi-award winning kitchen is legend. Following in the footsteps of household names like Gunter Preuss, Joe Broussard and Nathaniel Burton, the 35-year-old is proud to take his place as the latest of the great chefs to assume leadership of the Broussard’s kitchen as he guides the restaurant in its culinary mission: the evolution of haute Creole cuisine.

The son of military parents, Stewart was born in San Diego, California and lived extensively throughout the United States before finally settling in Florida.  At a young age, Tory started experimenting in the kitchen, practicing his natural culinary skills on family and friends who encouraged him to follow his true calling.  
 
Tory began his career working at several restaurants before attending culinary school and earning his culinary degree at the famed French Culinary Institute in New York City.  While in New York City, he served an internship in the kitchen of Esca, owned by author and media personality Mario Batali and headed by Chef Dave Pasternack. He also honed his craft at Café Des Artistes – the legendary property founded by George Lang – under the tenure of Chef Bill Pete.
Upon graduating from the French Culinary Institute, Chef Tory Stewart came to New Orleans to experience the wonderful cuisine and culture that this great Southern French city has to offer.  Once in New Orleans, he began working as a Sous Chef at Begue’s – the fine-dining room of the Royal Sonesta Hotel.  

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina interrupted Stewart’s service to Beque’s, prompting his return to Florida where he served as sous-chef at H₂0, a Hilton property in Pensacola. After spending almost a year in Florida, Tory longed to return to New Orleans.  
 
Passionate to pursue his lifetime dream of becoming a famous New Orleans Chef, Tory, his wife and two daughters returned to the Crescent City where he began working for acclaimed Chef Gunter Preuss at Broussard’s Restaurant in the French Quarter, as Chef de Cuisine. Having served as an unparalleled beacon of historical and culinary culture for 8 decades, as well as being one of the most decorated New Orleans restaurants with awards like Restaurant News’ Fine Dining Legend, The Cornell Dining Award, The Ivy Award of Distinction and the recipient of the prestigious DIRONA Award every year since 1998, Broussard’s would undoubtedly serve as an essential ingredient in Tory’s recipe for success.

His innovative contributions to the menu include favorites like Orange-Lime Marinated Grouper, seafood Ceviche Martini, and a Berkshire Pork Chop flambéed with Calvados, to name a few.  Stewart says he prefers the big, assertive flavors native to Louisiana cooking. “I had never tasted well-seasoned food until I moved to New Orleans. That doesn’t mean spicy, it means bold. It’s not something you find elsewhere – and I fell in love with it,” he adds.

Chef Tory has since performed at many food demonstrations throughout New Orleans including the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, the La Petit Theatre and most recently at the NOAA Fish Fry in Washington D.C.  He has also been interviewed by many celebrity personalities and known members of the press, in addition to being featured in several publications.  Constantly exhibiting innovation and creativity, Stewart celebrates the rich heritage of Broussard’s Restaurant and continues to evolve his unique cooking style, as a dazzled and intrigued culinary scene looks on in excitement.

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