[dropcap]S[/dropcap]aint Lucia celebrates with Chef Nina Compton as her restaurant, Compere Lapin, has been named New Orleans Restaurant of the Year for 2016 by The Times-Picayune. The Saint Lucia Culinary Ambassador and Top Chef Runner-Up restauranteur was deservedly the first ever to be awarded the accolade by renowned Times- Picayune dining critic, Brett Anderson.
Chef Nina’s husband and partner of Compere Lapin, Larry Miller, expressed his excitement at the receipt of this award, especially because The Times-Picayune critic is so well respected around the country. “The fact that Brett Anderson, someone who is so well known and respected, bestowed this award makes this honor even more special,” noted Miller.
Compere Lapin provides to its patrons a culinary experience that is distinctly Saint Lucian at its foundation. Since opening in 2015, Chef Nina Compton has brought the tastes and smells of the islands to thousands of patrons in New Orleans, Louisiana.
This strong influence of Nina’s Saint Lucian roots in her cuisine has enticed many patrons to visit Saint Lucia, as well as drummed up much attention for the destination. What The Times-Picayune food critic Brett Anderson describes in his review ‘as the marrying of cooking of her native St. Lucia with that of her adopted New Orleans home’, has helped her restaurant provide mass exposure of the island and specifically its gastronomic offerings.
“The Saint Lucia Tourist Board congratulates Chef Nina Compton and her team on this remarkable achievement,” says Minister for Tourism Dominic Fedee. “Chef Nina has been instrumental in exciting the imagination of many aspiring chefs on the island, as well as been a catalyst for growth of the island’s unique food offerings. We are excited to see all that 2017 has in store for the development of food tourism at home and abroad,” he continued.
