‘225’: Winning ’em over

Baton Rouge Chef William Wells thrives on competition. He has entered dozens of culinary face-offs over the course of his career to prove his mettle to judges nationwide. His walls are decorated with proof of his success, so it was no surprise he won top honors in WAFB’s televised professional chef’s cook-off in March. By the competition’s 59-minute time limit, Wells transformed a mystery basket of ingredients into a contemporary Creole dish he named Breakfast on the Bayou. The contest’s three finalists were asked to use six of nine set items: grits, mushrooms, peanut butter, kale, sauerkraut, bittersweet chocolate, Guinness stout, oysters and tomatoes. Wells won with a dish composed of crispy oysters with Tabasco-smoked tomato cream, baked sausage quiche, wild mushroom grit cake and wilted kale. “There are a lot of young guns out there,” says Wells, 47. “But I’m still gunning. Wells has the energy and demeanor of a restaurant chef—traits he earned from years of working in top regional eateries—but since 2000, he has devoted his career to Culinary Productions, the catering company he and his wife, Jennifer, created. Read the full feature by Maggie Heyn Richardson in this month’s issue of 225 here.