True Grit

Chef Celeste Gill Pushes Through the Noise to Establish her Brand

Chef Celeste Gill at the Louisiana X Charlotte restaurant takeover event, by the Louisiana Culinary Trails. Photo courtesy of Louisiana Travel.

​The saying goes that something worthwhile is never easy, and Chef Celeste Gill knows about the sentiment. Baton Rouge’s restaurant scene has exploded over the past decade, and Gill, a native of Detroit, has played a key role in the development of the food scene in Downtown Baton Rouge. Though it hasn’t been easy, it’s been worth every step.

“When I came here, Baton Rouge was nothing like it is today,” Gill said. “I fell in love with the downtown area. It has kind of reminded me of being home in Detroit, and watching it grow into something big.”

Twenty years ago, she moved to the Capital City. Now, Chef Celeste is known to locals for her warm hospitality, and nutritious and delicious Louisiana home-cooked style meals. Wherever you go in Baton Rouge, there is no doubt you’re crossing her path.

“I just can’t sit still,” Gill laughs over the phone with me one morning. She kids, but, there is truth to her joke.

Gill has two café locations, aptly named Chef Celeste Bistro. She offers on-site catering services and owns an event venue called 520 Spain, located near the State Capitol on Spain Street. Gill sells her own line of Certified Louisiana seasonings and sauce, and you can also find Chef cooking on camera for a handful of different YouTube series. She also works with assisted living center Southside Gardens, and she gives back to the community by teaching cooking and life skills at the Baton Rouge Parish Prison, plus, she volunteers with the Big Buddy Program. Gill is even at work developing a cookbook.

The balancing act is second nature to Gill, and she takes as much rest as possible she says.

“When it comes to business, I’ve always done whatever I’ve felt like doing,” said Gill, “because you have to make yourself happy in order to make other people happy.” 

Where it all Began

Her love for food started growing in her family’s kitchen back in Detroit, where she would cook with her grandmother, mother and siblings. Frequently, she would visit the Eastern Market neighborhood for farmer’s market shopping, not far from where she grew up off Fenkell Avenue.

“I remember the first cake I made was a German Chocolate cake,” said Gill “Then I started making food trays for my friends, just for fun.”

Her parents encouraged her to study draft engineering. Gill even placed in some state competitions, but her heart was still in the kitchen. Truthfully though, she never envisioned herself cooking professionally.

“I didn’t think it was something that would take me where I wanted to go,” Gill said.

Where she wanted to go, at the time, was still unknown, but her parents made sure she was given every opportunity to succeed.

“Where I grew up, there was an understanding that you’re going to go out, and you’re going to do something, and you’re going to be successful,” said Gill.

It was in the Aloha state that Gill found her first big success. While studying speech therapy at Leeward Community College in Pearl City, Hawaii, Gill branched out and enrolled in a leisure baking class. From that moment on she was hooked; she knew culinary arts was her calling. The waves of ‘firsts’ kept coming ashore for Gill in Hawaii.

She landed her first job working as the first female chef at an alcohol treatment center with the Salvation Army. Serving as an MP in the National Guard, two of her male colleagues were not interested in going through culinary training, so Gill convinced her superiors to hire her, giving her another position where she was the first female chef.

“Females were not prevalent in professional kitchens [during that time],” Gill said. “They did not want me in the men’s section. But I ended up there.” 
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A taste of Chef Celeste's shrimp & grits, using stone ground grits and Louisiana gulf shrimp. Photo courtesy of Louisiana Travel.

Blackened shrimp benedict. Photo courtesy of Chef Celeste Bistro.

Croissant breakfast sandwich. Photo courtesy of Chef Celeste Gill.

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​Settling into Downtown

Arriving in Baton Rouge, Gill received warm welcomes wherever she sought work. The retirement community at Lake Sherwood Village was the first to offer her a job.

What many people know today as the Main Street Market in Downtown Baton Rouge started out as a humble farmers market, known as the Red Stick Farmers Market (RSFM). Gill was offered to be one of the first tenants, circa 2003-2005, when the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance (BREADA) decided to open a brick-and-mortar location for the RSFM.

Since, Chef Celeste Bistro has grown into two locations, with one being on N.5th and Main Street, and the other inside of the NeuroMedical Center in Perkins Rowe. It was her bistro that brought to life her Certified Louisiana Senior Seasonings and Honey Mustard Sauce. Her sautéed shrimp salad was a hit at both locations, and her patrons wanted more.

“People would want the honey mustard sauce cold, so I decided to started bottling it,” Gill said. “The Creole garlic is a seasoning I use on my shrimp and grits. So, that’s my shrimp and grits in a jar.”

Lake Sherwood Village was her first job in town, and she’s come full circle now working with Southside Gardens. The assisted living facility and senior community have a special place in Gill’s heart.  

“The Southside Gardens and I have a mutual connection, we’re like family,” said Gill. “Everything that I do is with the help of an awesome team at each location. There is no way I’d be able to do the things I am doing right now without the folks behind me.”

Gill feels most gratified by her chances to teach and empower. Her work at the Baton Rouge Parish Prison has her teaching low-risk inmates cooking basics—the ins and outs of a kitchen, food safety and job interview skills. This gives them the leg up once they’re out on their own.
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“I’m a stickler for the basics,” Gill said. “There are so many opportunities through food, and food can be so forgiving. We accept everybody in the culinary industry. You can have a second chance, a third chance, you can have however many chances you need.”
 

Showcasing her Own Brand

Chef Celeste Gill shares her shrimp & grits recipe with guests during the Louisiana X Charlotte restaurant takeover event. Photo courtesy of Louisiana Travel.

​Second chances come in many forms, but it was Gill’s first chance to run a kitchen back in Hawaii that lead her down the path to a thriving culinary career. In both of her early roles, at the Salvation Army and in the National Guard, Gill was not only the first female to take the job, but the first Black female. Understanding this, and overcoming obstacles while learning to work with her male cohort motivated her to brand her own image.

“If it had not happened to me, and other women back in that time, how would we have changed anything? They needed to see females in the kitchen,” Gill said. “They needed to see that Black females are opening restaurants, and running businesses. And, we’re doing it well.”

The respect she has gained through her career shines light on how females are more prevalent in professional kitchens now, Gill says. She was excited when she received a call from the Louisiana Culinary Trails to take part in their Louisiana X Charlotte cooking event.

“I grew up in Detroit watching Justin Wilson and Julia Child,” said Gill. “So, to be down here representing Louisiana, that’s something I’ve wanted to do for years.”

Gill was one of 14 Louisiana top chefs who brought Louisiana cuisine on the road to Charlotte, North Carolina. For two action packed days, restaurant takeovers happened across Charlotte. Gill was paired with Chef J. Rose Mushe of Haberdish Restaurant. Her menu for the evening consisted of Louisiana favorites like red beans and rice, gumbo, shrimp & grits and bananas Foster.

“Everything came together so beautifully,” Gill said of her Charlotte experience. “I have never worked in anyone’s restaurant, so that was different to be on the line, and they’re calling it out and were making it and plating it. The entire experience was priceless.”

While cooking at The Haberdish in Charlotte, everyone was willing to pitch in and learn from her, which was also priceless. All of the smiles and lessons taught combine to bring the guest experience to life.
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“It’s at the heart of what I do,” said Gill.
 

Chef Celeste (second from far right) stands with 13 of Louisiana's top chefs during the Louisiana X Charlotte restaurant takeover event. Photo courtesy of Louisiana Travel.