Founder & Chef, Baptiste Hospitality
Three restaurants + commissary.
The SourceSource ofYOU
Andre Baptiste
Chef and founder, Baptiste HospitalityNew Orleans, LA
I build neighborhood restaurants that earn a Tuesday. Three rooms, one commissary, and a kitchen standard that holds when the line is slammed.
I trained at the Culinary Institute of America, cooked as sous then executive chef at House Marais, and opened Baptiste Hospitality in 2017. The work is half cooking and half keeping three P&Ls honest. I still take a station on busy nights.
Chronicle
Executive Chef, House Marais
Kitchen and menu leadership.
A.O.S. Culinary Arts, Culinary Institute of America
Featured
Restaurant
Baptiste on Freret
First neighborhood room: 48 seats, full week service.
Open since 2017
Ops
Commissary kitchen
Shared prep facility feeding three restaurants.
About 18 percent prep labor reduction
Kitchen
Marais handoff
Executive chef years that built the sous bench for later openings.
Food cost under 29 percent for eight quarters
By the numbers
3 restaurants open
Full week service in New Orleans
~90 staff
Full- and part-time across the group
Commissary live
Shared prep for three kitchens
Classified
Kitchen consulting
Limited advisory for operators building a second unit.
The Interview
Q.What does Andre do?
A.He is the founder and chef of Baptiste Hospitality, a New Orleans group with three neighborhood restaurants and a commissary kitchen.
Q.What is the group's size?
A.Three restaurants, one commissary, and roughly 90 full- and part-time staff.
Q.Does he consult?
A.Limited advisory for operators building a second unit.
Opinion
Neighborhood over novelty
A room that only works for tourists will not survive August. Design for the people who live three blocks away.
Tuesday is the test
Friday proves the concept. Tuesday proves the business.
Sections
Deadline·shown with a fictional demo record
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