Since moving into his French Colonial plantation-style home on Bayou St. John in March, Brian Landry has greeted each day surrounded by his definition of paradise.
“I get to paddleboard on the bayou or ride my bike in City Park. I get these quick little recharge experiences before I walk downstairs to start my workday,” Landry said.
The classically trained chef is also co-owner of QED Hospitality, a restaurant management group that specializes in food and beverage operations for boutique hotels and properties. Landry founded the company in 2018 with CEO Emery Whalen.
A rising tide carries all ships
In 2019, Landry tapped his childhood friend and bassist Peter Harris to serve as musical director of the Bayou Bar — previously a sleepy watering hole known for its tranquil murals by artist Charles Reinike — in The Pontchartrain Hotel. The upscale establishment on St. Charles Avenue is one of the many growing properties under QED management across New Orleans; Nashville, Tennessee; and Clermont, Kentucky.
With Landry’s culinary acumen, Whalen’s business chops and Harris’ talent and connections in the city’s jazz community, the trio has transformed the food and beverage operations at The Pontchartrain Hotel. It is now a hot spot with the vibrant Jack Rose restaurant helmed by Landry, Hot Tin rooftop bar and the Bayou Bar’s rotating lineup of talented musicians.
Recently, QED Hospitality acquired Broussard’s, one of the French Quarter’s old-line bastions of French Creole cuisine.
“We are going to give it a lot of much-needed love,” Landry said. “Peter will also be the music director there. We are giving it a new life.”
On Oct. 27, Landry and Harris will welcome the release of “Rhythm & Roux: The Simmer & Swing of New Orleans” (Susan Schadt Press), an epic, 305-page, visually mesmerizing exploration of the intersection between the city’s food and music.
Welcome to the clubhouse
After buying his home in January, Landry only needed to have the interior painted in Opulence by Benjamin Moore and the swimming pool refurbished before moving in with his proverbial frying pan.
Musicians are frequent guests in chef Brian Landry’s home overlooking Bayou St. John. Left to right are saxophonist Miles Berry, guitarist Mike Clement, pianist Joe Ashlar, bassist Peter Harris and drummer Nygel Anderson.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Since then, it has become something of a clubhouse for the coterie of musicians he pals around with and cooks for. The likes of Herlin Riley, Nicholas Payton, Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Ashlin Parker, Derek Douget, Stanton Moore, Tony Dagradi and Ricardo Pascal keep the place awash in some of the finest music known to mankind.
“They had the run of the place for Jazz Fest,” Landry said. “Between their sets, they just hung out on the porches or loafed around the pool.”
Built in 2003, the three-story home visually mimics its nearby bayou brethren, the Pitot House, built in 1799. The home seems ideally suited to the dashing, affable bachelor chef and his social lifestyle. The ground floor of the 2,800-square-foot, double-galleried abode sits on a deep, narrow lot with a dog-leg that wraps behind an adjacent lot.
The spacious rectangular swimming pool sits here. Landry lavishes care on his tropical backyard oasis and herb garden, canopied by a centuries-old oak tree. A variety of spaces support outdoor gatherings for Landry and his three children: Cullen, 21; Elise, 19; and Corinne, 16.
Brian Landry had the generous, rectangular swimming pool refurbished just before moving in last March. The home affords several outdoor spaces for gathering and entertaining.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
On the first floor, which is at slab level with polished and stained concrete floors, Landry sacrificed a pair of bedrooms with adjoining baths to create offices — “the girls’ room and the boys’ room,” Whalen said, for the hospitality group’s operations. An enclosed garage, a workshop and a rear screened porch are opposite the office spaces.
Flawless oak floors run throughout the second story. The front area has an open floor plan with casual, stylish living and dining rooms. Landry’s ever-buzzing kitchen opens via broad French doors onto a deep, galleried porch overlooking the bayou. Natural light pours in to support a collection of thriving tropical plants.
As a New Orleans native and alum of Jesuit High School, University of Alabama and Johnson & Wales University, Landry also installed an antique upright Weaver piano near the balcony for his melodiously inclined guests to play. At the rear, a spacious primary suite overlooks the garden. The third floor has additional private spaces with a bayou view through a dormer window.
“It’s a respite from the city, even though I am in the middle of the city,” he said.
Entertaining at home
On a recent sultry afternoon, chef Brian Landry hosted his co-author Peter Harris, his business partner Emery Whalen, their employees and a who’s who of talented musicians for an afternoon repast, jam session and hang by the swimming pool.
He seemed to turn out his extensive serve-yourself menu effortlessly.
Guests sipped wine and cane syrup old-fashioned cocktails made with French Truck Coffee ice cubes. Dishes included broiled oysters on the half shell; the shrimp remoulade he perfected between his stints as executive chef at Galatoire’s, and later, Borgne; a light salad of tomato and watermelon; crostinis with pimento cheese; sliced country ham; seared beef tenderloin with chimichurri sauce.
Guests sipped on cane syrup old-fashioned cocktails made with French Truck Coffee ice cubes.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
“Brian’s food is flavorful and delicious,” Whalen said of her business partner, “but it is also light and refreshing.”
“I grew up working as a busboy at Tony Angello’s,” Landy said of the celebrated Italian restaurant in Lakeview that closed in 2016 following the death of its founder and namesake at the age of 88. “That was my first real exposure to real food and fine dining. I always try to incorporate some element of Italian into my cooking as a homage to Tony Angello’s.”
An avid fisher, chef Brian Landry created yellowfin tuna fusilli to make use of tuna scraps after a big fishing haul in Venice, Louisiana. He uses the trimmings to make some tuna “Italian” sausage — a playful nod to the fennel-laced pork sausage common in Italian cooking. He reserves the pristine, center-cut loin for searing and serving atop the pasta dish.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Yellowfin Tuna Fusilli
Recipe excerpted from “Rhythm & Roux: The Simmer & Swing of New Orleans” (2026, Susan Schadt Press) by Brian Landry and Peter Harris.
“When fishing out of Venice, Louisiana, it’s not unusual to haul in yellowfin tuna big enough to feed the whole boat,” Landry wrote. “After breaking down the fish, I use the trimmings to make a tuna “Italian” sausage — a playful nod to the fennel-laced pork sausage I grew up with. Reserve the pristine, center-cut loin for searing and serving atop the pasta. For this recipe, simply use half of the tuna (or any end pieces) for the sausage, and save the remainder for the seared and sliced loin.
“Ever since I was a 14-year-old busboy at Tony Angello’s Ristorante, I’ve had a deep affection for Creole-Italian cooking. The biggest perk back then was getting to taste everything on the “Feed Me” menu. I try to emulate the generosity in that food in my own cooking. Dishes like this one bring together my love of seafood with the Italian flavors that shaped me growing up — fennel, garlic, lemon, chili, and, of course, the comforting pasta.”
Serves 4-6
FOR THE ITALIAN SAUSAGE SEASONING
2 tablespoons toasted fennel seeds, ground
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE YELLOWFIN TUNA FUSILLI
2 pounds fresh yellowfin tuna
1 pound rapini, roughly chopped
1 pound fusilli pasta
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 lemons, zested and juiced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Make the seasoning: Mix all ingredients.
2. Prepare the tuna: Separate the tuna into two (1-pound) portions. Grind or finely chop 1 pound of the tuna. In a medium bowl, mix with 2 tablespoons of the Italian sausage seasoning and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut the other 1-pound portion into logs. Season the tuna logs with the remaining Italian sausage seasoning on all four sides. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Cook the rapini and the fusilli: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rapini to the pot and cook for three minutes. Use a slotted spoon to lift the rapini from the water and place it in a colander to drain. Bring the water back to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
4. While the pasta is cooking, in a cast-iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the tuna logs for one to two minutes per side, until bronzed but still raw in the middle. Set aside to rest.
5. In a large Dutch oven, heat the two remaining tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tuna mixture and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned, three to five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine is reduced by half, about one minute. Add the rapini, tomatoes, and chili flakes to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the tomatoes are warm and the rapini is tender, about two minutes. Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, toss well and cook over low heat.
6. Add the butter and emulsify with the pasta water to create a glossy coating on the noodles, about one to two minutes. Add additional pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, as needed to achieve a smooth sauce.
7. Remove the pan from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss. Divide the pasta among shallow bowls. Slice the seared tuna and divide equally atop each portion. Serve at once.
