Roy Guste, Jr., formerly of Antoine's

[skchai]

This is in the what-are-they-doing-now category.

20 years ago (!), as I'm sure many of you know, he was the chosen one who was supposed to take the Alciatore / Guste family of Antoine's fame into the next century. This is before he crashed out with his hugely ambitious but ultimately doomed nouvelle-Creole-before-its-time Guste's Restaraunt, which closed after only several months.

Since then, it doesn't seems like he's been directly involved with Antoine's, though I've noticed that he's written a number of cookbooks. Always seemed like a fascinating character. Has he had any involvement in the restaurant business any more? And what is going on with Antoine's nowadays, anyway?

[Java-Joe]

How old would this person be today?

I know a little about some of these folks and I can find out some information for you.

Joe

[skchai]

Thanks. Not certain, but I believe he would be somewhere in his 50s.

He was the proprietor of Antoine's from 1975 to 1984, when he turned it over to Randy Guste in order to start the ill-fated Guste's.

[Mayhaw Man]

I think he is pretty much out of the restaurant biz and into publishing full time. You still see him in the society pages occasionally and he has published a number of books in the last ten years. I have the Bean Book and the Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre. (the courtyard of my wife's apt is in it, although we have nothing to do with the garden).

The second link will lead you to his many other books, as well.

[skchai]

Thanks so much for the info, Brooks!

It's a pity in a way, since he seemed to be the one member of the family who was 100% committed to making Antoine's into something more than a great culinary museum.

[skchai]

Recently picked up really cheap copies of The 100 Greatest New Orleans Creole Recipes and Antoine's Cookbook by Roy Guste at my local used bookstore. Both were a joy to read. The Antoine's Cookbook has got to be one of the best-organized and most complete restaurant cookbooks ever written, with well over a hundred of their dishes spelled out in detail and context, a long history of the restaurant, ancient photographs, reprints of old menus, etc. The Creole Recipe book is equally detailed and even contains a recipe for Oysters Rockefeller. Guste's encyclopedic knowledge and love for Creole cuisine really comes through.

Made me wonder why the Alcatoire / Guste family doesn't hand a management role in the restaurant back to him before it slowly slides away into irrelevance. . .