The James Beard Foundation Awards recognize outstanding achievement within the food and wine industry. Considered one of the most coveted marks of distinction within the culinary community, Link Restaurant Group partners are honored to have been recognized for their culinary achievements. Read More

“Chef Donald Link’s pivot from the European-New Orleans bistro food of Herbsaint (his first restaurant) to the rural cooking of his Cajun upbringing at Cochon (his second) turned out to be a watershed moment.” Read More

“Link has traveled to Guadeloupe, a French department in the Lesser Antilles, to untangle the knotted roots and branches of Creole cuisine. Originally used by colonizers to refer to people born in the New World, the term Creole can also be applied to racial identity, language, architecture, and, yes, cooking.” Read More

“As a native of western Louisiana’s Cajun Country, chef-owner Donald Link continues to push the conversation about the bounty of the bayou …” Read More

THE 30 MOST INFLUENCIAL RESTAURANTS IN THE LAST 30 YEARS By JEREMY REPANICH When the French Acadians were bounced out of Canada by the British, they ventured down to Louisiana to make their new home. And although Donald Link’s family came to the area from Germany in the 1800s, they absorbed the cooking traditions of… Read More

“Despite the high standards, though, it feels casual and welcoming to a crowd that’s heard the hype and are looking to be impressed.” Read More

“Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski raised the bar on the rich culinary traditions of the Louisiana bayou and gave the NOLA dining scene what it was missing—a passionate, pork-filled point of view.” Read More

Cochon serves up traditional yet upscale seasonal Cajun dishes using fresh, locally sourced pork, produce, and seafood, but most importantly: the tried-and-true techniques that chef Donald Link has resurrected from his childhood. Read More

ESQUIRE’S TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY GUMBO:
SOMETHING TO KEEP ON THE STOVE WHEN PEOPLE ARE HANGING AROUND YOUR HOUSE THIS WINTER, COURTESY OF A FIFTH-GENERATION CAJUN Read More

“There is, for example, the sandwich of deep-fried oysters and house-made bacon I had this year at Cochon in New Orleans, served on white Pullman bread with a chili-spiked mayonnaise…” Read More