Vote for New Orleans’ Chef of the Year

Editor’s note: an error caused this poll to close early — it has been reopened and will now close at 1 p.m. on November 28.

Welcome to the 9th annual Eater Awards, honoring the most talented restaurant and bar industry gurus in cities across the world. Here’s how the Eater Awards work: All 24 Eater cities and the national site will grant prizes in multiple categories, including but not limited to Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, and Design of the Year.

Each category will dole out an editor’s choice winner and a reader’s choice winner — all to be announced on December 5, 2018. The reader’s choice winner gets unlimited bragging rights as an Eater fan favorite. The editor’s choice winner will receive an illustrious tomato can trophy, as is the tradition around here, and a splashy feature on Eater New Orleans in 2019.

The finalists include some of New Orleans’ most buzz-worthy chefs of the year: Levi Raines, whose restaurant Bywater American Bistro has earned major attention as he and Nina Compton showcase the myriad of cultures that make up the Crescent City’s cuisine; Hao Gong, a Shanghai-born chef who has been wowing diners with cooked and raw bar offerings in the petite, colorful, and highly photogenic Luvi restaurant; Eric Cook, a New Orleans restaurant veteran who debuted his own down-home eatery, Gris-Gris, dishing perfectly executed Louisiana fare; Brad McDonald, who stuns at Couvant with his meticulous approach to French cooking; and Leighann Smith and Daniel Jackson who opened Piece of Meat, a butcher shop and restaurant that combines old-school technique with edgy attitude and an unwavering commitment to ethically sourced meats.

Now, without any further ado, it’s time to vote for the reader’s choice winner in the New Orleans Chef of the Year category. Polls will be open for 24 hours and will be strictly policed for funny business. Cast your vote: