The Link Group, New Orleans
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
The Link Restaurant Group was founded in January 2009 by James Beard Award Winning Chefs Donald Link and his business partner Stephen Stryjewski, with the goal to support the continuous growth of their family of restaurants, currently including Herbsaint, Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Calcasieu, Peche Seafood Grill, La Boulangerie and Gianna. Their guiding philosophy is to produce honest, simple food. Growing up in South Louisiana taught Chef Link about the importance of traditions and the region’s unique flavors, and he is proud to share that food at the restaurants of the Link Restaurant Group.
Link’s flagship restaurant Herbsaint earned him a James Beard award in 2007 for Best Chef: South. The same year Cochon was nominated for Best New Restaurant; Link has also been nominated by the James Beard Foundation for the prestigious award of Outstanding Chef for multiple years. In 2011, Chef/Partner Stephen Stryjewski was named Best Chef: South by the James Beard Foundation. Pêche Seafood Grill was awarded Best New Restaurant at the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards. That same year, Executive Chef Ryan Prewitt also won Best Chef: South. Gianna was honored to be named a James Beard Award Nominee for Best New Restaurant 2020. Gourmet Magazine listed Herbsaint as one of the top 50 restaurants in America, and was inducted into the Nation’s Restaurant News Hall of Fame. Cochon was listed in The New York Times as “one of the top 3 restaurants that count” and named one of the 20 most important restaurants in America by Bon Appétit. For his commitment to the industry, the Louisiana Restaurant Association honored Link by naming him Restaurateur of the Year in 2012
The James Beard Foundation also honored Link’s first cookbook—Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana (Clarkson Potter) with their top award for Best American Cookbook. Released in 2009. Real Cajun is a collection of family recipes that Link has honed and perfected while honoring the authenticity of the Cajun people. In February 2014, Link celebrated the release of his second cookbook Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything, (Clarkson-Potter), which looks beyond New Orleans and Louisiana at dishes in nearby states.
In 2015, Link and Stryjewski created the Link Stryjewski Foundation to address the persistent cycle of violence and poverty, as well as the lack of quality education and job training opportunities available to young people in New Orleans.
