Tory McPhail

Events

Perfectly Paired Dinners (formerly Restaurant Dine-Arounds)
Perfectly Paired Dinners
Restaurant:Commander's Palace
Address:New Orleans, LA

Tory McPhail has followed a path forged from hard work to arrive at the historic Commander’s Palace restaurant’s storied chef dais, which has cultivated the likes of Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, and Jamie Shannon.

McPhail hails from Ferndale, WA, a small town near the Canadian border, where he learned to appreciate local goods and the comfortable gathering place of his parents’ kitchen. Corn planted in the spring would become dinner in the summer; fish caught in the afternoon from his family’s stocked pond would make it to the plate by dusk. “I knew food didn’t just come from the grocery store and magically appear there,” he says. “Being able to watch it all grow gave me a passion for natural foods.”

After high school, McPhail attended Seattle Community College and received an ACF-accredited degree in culinary science. Counselors suggested he pursue work in either the Big Apple or the Big Easy, citing their respective fertile culinary learning grounds. New Orleans, with its history, soul, and Mardi Gras celebrations, won him over, and at just 19, he was hired by Commander’s Palace Executive Chef Jamie Shannon and worked through all 12 stations of the kitchen, honing his craft and making a positive impression on his boss.

In search of “as much experience as possible, as quickly as possible,” McPhail later completed a series of stints at culinary hot spots, including the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, FL; the Michelin-starred L’Escargot in London and its sister restaurant, the Michelin two-star Picasso Room; and the Caribbean/Creole-intensive Mongoose Restaurant in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In the spring of 2000, McPhail returned to the Commander’s family as executive sous chef at Commander’s Palace Las Vegas. Though he loved his job there, New Orleans beckoned—as did Shannon—and he returned to the Big Easy, where, in January 2002, the Brennan family named him executive chef of the original Commander’s Palace.

Today, McPhail continues his dedication to creating and sustaining strong relationships with local purveyors, as well as executing exciting dishes in the Commander’s kitchen. “I’m always thinking very forward when it comes to Creole food,” he says. An animated and resolute chef who pursues culinary perfection, McPhail delights in exploring a variety of flavors in his seasonal menus—embracing Creole traditions while updating classic dishes with fresh, local ingredients. His Creole Seared Gulf Fish, for example, showcases farm-fresh produce like spring mushrooms, corn, fingerling potatoes and seared speckled trout.

McPhail’s masterful work has not only kept Commander’s Palace at the top of critics’ lists, but has also led him to numerous TV appearances, including on Bravo’s Top Chef, on which he was a guest judge along-side Commander’s Co-Proprietor Ti Adelaide Martin; NBC’s Today; CBS’s Early Show; Paula’s Party; After Hours With Daniel Boulud; and numerous Food Network programs, including Sara’s Secrets, My Country, My Kitchen; Into the Fire; and Bobby Flay’s Food Nation. Tory also co-hosted Off the Menu, which aired on Turner South Network for six years.

A James Beard Rising Star Chef and 2011 James Beard Best Chef: South nominee, McPhail was also the winner of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in 2009; co-authored with Martin Commander’s Wild Side, a collection of recipes taken from the legendary restaurant’s kitchen; served on the Nutrition Advisory Board for Cooking Light magazine; and been a spokesperson for Wild American Shrimp and McCormick’s Old Bay seasoning.