Communal Table Podcast: Nina Compton

Chefs and restaurant workers take great care of everyone else, but often they need a little help themselves. Each week, Food & Wine senior editor Kat Kinsman talks with hospitality pros about they manage their business, brain, and body for the long haul. Is there a topic you'd like to know more about or a guest you'd love to hear from? Tell us at fwpro@foodandwine.com or tweet to Kat @kittenwithawhip, and subscribe to the weekly Food & Wine Pro newsletter.

Episode 29: Nina Compton

Fate brought Nina Compton to New Orleans, and a smart business head and dedicated community kept her there. After a stellar turn on Top Chef, the St. Lucia-born, then-Miami-based chef had her pick of offers all over the country, but something about the Big Easy drew her back. Since opening the lauded Compere Lapin in the Old 77 Hotel in the Warehouse District and Bywater American Bistro in the eponymous NOLA neighborhood, Compton's cuisine, along with her husband Larry Miller's front-of-house hospitality has drawn together a local community of chefs and food fanatics in a deeply warm and meaningful way. Compton—who was sworn in as a United States citizen just this week—opened up about how she found her way home, and why she's unafraid to put her business at risk to do what's right.

Visit Nina's restaurants: Compere Lapin and Bywater American Bistro

Learn more about Nina: For Best New Chef Nina Compton, New Orleans Is a Key Ingredient

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