New Orleans

Chef Tory McPhail on the True Taste of NOLA

There’s no doubt that New Orleans is known for its big bold flavors. “It’s almost too salty, it’s almost too spicy,” says Tory McPhail, the renowned executive chef at Commander’s Palace, a culinary landmark of the city since the 1800s.

“When you combine that together with everything you get out of the field, out of the bayous and out of the Gulf of Mexico, how can you not have a wonderful culture?”

The fast-talking Big Easy native McPhail dishes on that culture in an episode of Discover America’s mouthwatering web series “Flavors of America,” and discusses the New Orleans’ food scene as he remembers “smells of making jams in the kitchen and fresh apple pie” as he cooks up softshell crab.

Adds McPhail, who has been key in keeping traditional Creole foodies coming back for dishes like turtle soup and pecan-crusted trout, “Every dish has a story.”