Inside Robb Report’s 2026 Culinary Masters in New Orleans
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Robb Report’s culinary spectacular is setting down roots in the Big Easy next month.
Culinary Masters is heading to New Orleans from May 7 to 9, and the schedule is serving up plenty of prime dishes from some of the best chefs in the nation. And while you bound from the opening night gala to multi-course dinners in editor-picked spots across the city to a cooking class with Top Chef-winner Buddha Lo, you’ll be able to rest your head at the Four Seasons New Orleans.
Kicking things off, though, is that grand opening night gala, which will take place at Chemin à la Mar, a steakhouse and seafood palace found right in the Four Seasons. Each course will be made by one of our Culinary Masters, a group of chefs with plenty of accolades to their names including James Beard Awards and Michelin stars. And the meals aren’t just New Orleans specialties, either: Each dish represent the different cultures that make up Big Easy’s culinary style, whether it be West Africa, the Caribbean, or France. Read on to discover what the chefs will be whipping us this year at Culinary Masters.
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Dario Montelvere
Image Credit: Jess Kearney Montelvere has been an executive chef under the Four Seasons umbrella for quite some time now, starting his culinary journey with the brand at its Sydney property. After traversing to Toronto, Lanai, and other locales, he’s settled in at the Four Seasons New Orleans, where he draws upon his adventures around the globe as inspiration for his dishes. At Robb Report’s Culinary Masters, Montelvere is in charge of all things canapés and starters. Expect Akaushi Wagyu beef tartare, Creole tomato “water,” a Louisiana blue crab and basil salad, and Gulf shrimp and sesame toast, among other dishes.
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Serigne Mbaye
Image Credit: Jeremy Tauriac A three-time James Beard nominee (as well as a Time100 Next honoree), Mbaye learned his culinary craft from his mother and went on to continue those studies at the New England Culinary Institute, where he was at the top of his class. After cutting his teeth at Commander’s Palace, Atelier Crenn, and other celebrated kitchens, he opened up his own restaurant in New Orleans called Dakar NOLA. The tasting-menu spot, which won James Beard Best New Restaurant 2024, is a temple to Senegalese cuisine reimagined as pescatarian; that theme continues in Mbaye’s Culinary Masters dish, a poached red snapper with yassa sauce, roasted carrots, and crispy rice.
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Isabel Coss
Image Credit: Alex Lau The 2024 James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist Isabel Coss leads the kitchen at Pascual, the modern Mexican restaurant in D.C. that has been packed since its opening. Founding the restaurant with husband and fellow chef Matt Conroy, Pascual is the follow-up to their French place in Georgetown, Lutece. At Culinary Masters she and Matt will cook together, drawing on their Gallic cooking experience to prepare a dish representing France’s influence on New Orleans cuisine.
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Matt Conroy
Image Credit: Werner Conroy wears more than one toque as the chef behind Lutèce, Pascual, and Maison Bar à Vins (all under the D.C.’s Popal Group). Whether the 2025 James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist is whipping up Mexican dishes, French cuisine, or tidbits for his European-style wine bar—which is currently a James Beard Best New Restaurant nominee—he brings the same careful consideration to each dish. And at Culinary Masters, Conroy and Coss will prepare a duck with cherries, stuffed morels, ramps, and sauce bigarade.
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Chris Shepherd
Image Credit: Daniel Ortiz Shepherd took the Houston culinary scene by storm when he opened Underbelly in 2012, a restaurant dedicated to showing off the city’s various cultures. His prowess in the kitchen earned him a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest just two years later. These days, he’s focused on hosting his Emmy Award-winning show Eat Like a Local and the Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization he founded and is now dedicated to helping hospitality industry workers in need. At the gala, Shepherd will celebrate the Gulf, but with a little bit of a curveball, opting to show off the great beef raised in the region instead of the seafood its known for. His steak au poivre with caramelized fish sauce, star anise, and cinnamon is also a nod to the Vietnamese diaspora that has enriched the cuisine of the Gulf from Houston to New Orleans.
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Tavel Bristol-Joseph
Image Credit: Tavel Bristol-Joseph Rounding things out for the evening will be a dessert by Bristol-Joseph. A 2026 James Beard semifinalist, the pastry chef was in charge of everything sweet at Hestia, our Best New Restaurant in 2020. Now, Bristol-Joseph acts as the chef and COO of Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group, which oversees 11 spots across Austin and San Antonio—including the 20-seat Michelin-starred dessert bar Nicosi (And there’s a new spot from the chef on the way this year, too). At Culinary Masters, you can expect to try his tres leches, completed with salted cream, seasonal jam, coconut milk, and roasted white chocolate, a nod to the chef’s Caribbean roots.
