Green Goddess

Chef Paul Artigues was born and raised in New Orleans.

“Growing up I just wanted to eat good food” says Chef Paul. “I grew up in the kitchen next to my mom prepping and learning the fundamentals. Then as we’d go out to eat as a family I’d get to try some stuff that is a little more ‘out there’, a little different, and I wanted to eat that stuff all the time so I just sort of figured it out. At a pretty early age I was making scrambled eggs and toast with a bechamel sauce for breakfast.”

Paul’s cooking career started right out of high school and never stopped. Always learning on the job in the kitchen. From barroom fare at the Rivershack Tavern then onto helping Greg Surrey open Surrey’s Café, then The Pearl Taco Truck after Hurricane Katrina and finally opening the Green Goddess with former co-owner Chris Debarr in 2008.

Now you call him Chef Paul and here’s some insight how he thinks about it all:

“Cooking is like learning to play a musical instrument, guitar for example. You learn a few tricks, some techniques, and just start building and combining. You hear stuff, ask questions, just kinda figure it out a bit at a time. Whenever I pick up something new I’m always thinking ‘What else can I do with this?’. To me, cooking is the same thing. It’s a combination of all the techniques and processes and everything about ingredients. Always looking to learn more, taste more. Keep moving forward and adding to the bag of tricks… and never be afraid to make mistakes.”

When Chef Paul isn’t belting out dishes at the Green Goddess he’s stomping out drum beats with blues and punk rock bands around town and the country. It’s all part of the creative passion that keeps this guy moving.