Peche, New Orleans

DONALD LINK

Executive Chef + President, Link Restaurant Group

Inspired by the Cajun and Southern cooking of his grandparents, Louisiana native Chef Donald Link began his professional cooking career at 15 years old. Chef Link has peppered the streets of the Warehouse District of New Orleans with a collection of award-winning restaurants over the past two decades. Herbsaint, a contemporary take on the French American “bistro,” is the flagship of the Link Restaurant Group. Cochon, opened with chef-partner Stephen Stryjewski, is where Link offers authentic Cajun and Southern cooking featuring the foods and cooking techniques he grew up preparing and eating. Cochon Butcher is a tribute to Old World butcher and charcuterie shops honoring the traditions of house-made meats and sausages, serving specialty sandwiches, a bar menu, wine, and creative cocktails. Calcasieu is Chef Link’s private event facility that takes its name from one of the parishes in the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana. Pêche Seafood Grill serves simply prepared coastal seafood with a unique, modern approach to old-world cooking methods featuring rustic dishes prepared on an open hearth over hardwood coals. La Boulangerie, a neighborhood bakery and café, offers handcrafted pastries, breads, coffees, and lunch specials. The latest addition to the family, Gianna offers rustic Italian cuisine rooted in Louisiana tradition and technique.

Herbsaint earned Chef Link a James Beard Award in 2007 for Best Chef South. The same year, Cochon was nominated for Best New Restaurant. The James Beard Foundation also nominated Chef Link for the prestigious award of Outstanding Chef for multiple years. Pêche Seafood Grill was awarded Best New Restaurant at the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards, and Gianna was honored to be named a James Beard Award Nominee for Best New Restaurant 2019. Gourmet Magazine listed Herbsaint as one of the top 50 restaurants in America and was inducted into the Nation’s Restaurant News Hall of Fame. Cochon was listed in The New York Times as “one of the top 3 restaurants that count” and named one of the 20 most important restaurants in America by Bon Appétit. For his commitment to the industry, the Louisiana Restaurant Association named Chef Link Restaurateur of the Year in 2012. In 2024, he was honored with the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Award.

The James Beard Foundation bestowed Chef Link’s first cookbook– Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana (Clarkson Potter), with its top award for Best American Cookbook, released in 2009. Real Cajun is a collection of family recipes that Chef Link has honed and perfected while honoring the authenticity of the Cajun people. In February 2014, Chef Link celebrated the release of his second cookbook, Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything (Clarkson-Potter), which looks beyond New Orleans and Louisiana at dishes in nearby states.

In 2015, Chefs Link and Stryjewski created the Link Stryjewski Foundation to address the persistent cycle of violence and poverty, as well as the lack of quality education and job training opportunities available to young people in New Orleans. www.linkstryjewski.org

STEPHEN STRYJEWSKI

Chef/Partner, Link Restaurant Group: Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Calcasieu, Pêche Seafood Grill, Gianna and La Boulangerie

Winner of the 2011 James Beard Foundation “Best Chef South,” Stephen Stryjewski is Chef/Partner of New Orleans’ award winning restaurants Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Pêche Seafood Grill, Calcasieu, a private event facility, La Boulangerie, a neighborhood bakery and café, as well as Gianna, the latest addition to the family. Stephen has been honored as “Best New Chef” by New Orleans Magazine, and as a “Chef to Watch” by The Times-Picayune. In 2007 Cochon was named a “Best New Restaurant” finalist by the James Beard Foundation, and in 2014, Pêche Seafood Grill won the James Beard Foundation award in the same category. Cochon has been recognized in the New York Times by Frank Bruni, “Coast to Coast, Restaurants that Count;” and Sam Sifton, “Dishes that Earned their Stars,” and has been consistently listed as a Top Ten New Orleans Restaurant in The Times-Picayune Dining Guide and was recently named one of the 20 most important restaurants in America by Bon Appétit.

In 2015, Stryjewski and his business partner Chef Donald Link created the Link Stryjewski Foundation to address the persistent cycle of violence and poverty, as well as the lack of quality education and job training opportunities available to young people in New Orleans. http://www.linkstryjewski.org

In 1997, Stryjewski graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and went on to work for some of the most notable chefs and restaurants in America including Michael Chiarello at TraVigne, Jamie Shannon at Commanders Palace, and Jeff Buben at Vidalia. Stryjewski grew up moving frequently as an “Army brat” and has traveled extensively in the United States and Europe. He resides in New Orleans’ Irish Channel with his wife and two daughters.

RYAN PREWITT

Chef and Partner

Ryan Prewitt began his culinary career in the farmer’s markets of San Francisco, where a burgeoning interest in food developed into a full-blown career. After spending time working for chefs Robert Cubberly and Alicia Jenish at Le Petite Robert Bistro, he moved to New Orleans to work with Chef Donald Link at Herbsaint. Ryan proved to be a quick study under Link’s tutelage and became Chef de Cuisine in 2009. He subsequently moved on to oversee culinary operations at Link Restaurant Group as Executive Chef for the company.

With a new job came an increased ability to learn and travel. As a member of the Fatback Collective, a group of Southern chefs who have compiled numerous accolades and awards in restaurants across the South, Ryan has learned new traditions and techniques from many talented BBQ pitmasters and has traveled to Uruguay to study traditional open-fire cooking. These experiences, along with a trip to observe grilling techniques in Spain, culminated in the opening of Pêche Seafood Grill. Ryan received the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: South in May 2014, the same year Pêche earned the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

NICOLE MILLS

Chef de Cuisine

Nicole was born and raised in the Philippines. She grew up in a small town called Cagayan de Oro, in Northern Mindanao. Her family owned a bakery where she grew up watching the production of fresh baked bread in an old fashioned wood burning stone oven. Farm to table has always been part of the Filipino culture. Nicole’s family was known for growing and producing some of the sweetest corn in the area along with farm raised pigs, chickens, and lamb. Her mother specialized in making and selling siomai and siopao at the family’s Dim Sum stall. Food has always been part of the family business.

After graduating from Ateneo de Manila University, Nicole moved to New York in 2001 to attend the French Culinary Institute in Soho. Her culinary career began with Danny Meyer and Union Square Hospitality Group cooking at both Eleven Madison Park and Gabriele Kreuther’s the Modern at MOMA. She worked as a tournant for Chef Alain Allegretti at Atelier in the Ritz Carlton Central Park and later with Chef Dan Kluger at the Core Club. After New York, Nicole moved to Los Angeles to work at the Thompson Beverly Hills with Chef Brian Redzikowski.

Nicole moved back to her hometown in the Philippines after L.A. to open a Creole concept restaurant. After a few years back home she relocated to New Orleans. She joined the Link Restaurant Group to be part of the opening team at Peche Seafood Grill in 2013. Nicole became the Chef de Cuisine at Peche in 2019. Nicole was included in the 2024 class of Best New Chefs by Food & Wine.

MAGGIE SCALES

Executive Pastry Chef Link Restaurant Group, Chef/Partner La Boulangerie

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maggie Scales pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of California, San Diego majoring in Language Studies. She then moved to Boston to attend the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in the Professional Pastry Program under Pastry Chef Delphin Gomes. While in school, Maggie worked at Chef Bob Kinkaid’s Sibling Rivalry Restaurant and the Metropolitan Club under Chef Todd Weiner. Upon completing culinary school, Maggie worked as a Pastry Chef at Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse in Boston. In 2009, she had the opportunity to work with James Beard winner Lydia Shire at Scampo Restaurant at the Liberty Hotel. When Chef Shire opened Towne Stove + Spirits, Maggie became the Executive Pastry Chef of the 300-seat establishment. In June 2011, Maggie relocated to New Orleans and began working for the Omni Hotels. She then joined Link Restaurant Group as a Pastry Chef, and in the summer 2014 Maggie accepted the position of Executive Pastry Chef overseeing all aspects of Link Restaurant Group’s pastry department. In 2015 Scales became Chef/Partner at La Boulangerie, a French bakery on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

TIM PACILLAS

General Manager

Tim Pacillas grew up in Southern California, just outside of Los Angeles. During high school, he started his first professional endeavor by joining his father's catering business, which sparked his passion for the hospitality industry. Tim's fascination with culinary service led him to gain experience in fast-casual and fine-dining establishments in the L.A. area, where he worked in various roles in both the front and back of the house during his teens and early twenties.

As he began a family and raised three children, Tim took on the role of Food Service Manager for at-risk youth camps on the West Coast, further honing his skills and commitment to service. In 2019, Tim and his wife, Kelly, sought new opportunities and relocated to New Orleans, where he joined the Commander’s Palace team. Later that same year, Tim accepted a position on Peche’s management team, where he quickly advanced to the role of Assistant General Manager and, in December 2024, attained the position of General Manager.

Today, Tim resides in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife and their rescue dog, Mister Bean.