Chef Biography
Gerhard Brill’s mother was a chef in Germany and he was raised to be a chef from Day One. He was classically trained, and after apprenticing in Germany he worked his way up the kitchen ladder in Swiss restaurants for the next ten years, from saucier to garde manger to chef. He then would spend another year in France before immigrating to the United States.
Chef Brill followed Paul Prudhomme as executive chef at New Orleans’ famed Commander’s Palace in 1980. The following year, 1981, the Great Chefs television team taped him for their Great Chefs of New Orleans I series, which would be the first of fourteen Great Chefs series. Chef Brill was actually the fourth chef ever to be recorded for Great Chefs Television, and he created the Bread Pudding Soufflé which was served for the first time in 1980 for the 100th anniversary of Commander’s Palace and was seen on the first Great Chefs shows.
In 1985, he left Commander’s Palace to open his own nouvelle-creole bistro, Gambrill’s, located in Metairie, with his former sous chef at Commander’s, Steve Gamble. (Chef Brill’s replacement at Commander’s was none other than Emeril Lagasse.) Chef Brill sold out his interest in that restaurant in 1989 and moved on to become the executive chef at the Perdido Beach Resort in Perdido Beach, Florida. In 2003, he moved over to the Magnolia Court Restaurant in Foley, Alabama. Magnolia Court closed in 2012, and Chef Brill retired only to pass away four years later.
Recipes
Oysters Marinière
Serving: 4 Print Oysters Marinière By Great Chefs November 16, 2015 This elegant, simple-to-make seafood dish, oysters in a thickened wine sauce, is lovely as an appetizer or as a luncheon dish. New Orleans oysters are large and salty. If the oysters you find are small, double the number. Ingredients Oysters – 24, shucked Oyster […]
Soft-shell Crab Choron
Serving: 8 Print Soft-shell Crab Choron By Great Chefs November 16, 2015 Golden deep-fried soft-shell crabs are a seasonal New Orleans specialty. These crabs pick up the hint of hot cayenne from the sauce and from being dusted with the Creole seasoning mix before being breaded. Ingredients Creole Sauce Green Bell Pepper – 1/2, seeded […]
Sauté of Louisiana Crawfish
Serving: 4 Print Sauté of Louisiana Crawfish By Great Chefs November 16, 2015 The Creole seafood seasoning below is used for many things in New Orleans cookery, not the least of which is boiling crawfish, shrimp, and crabs. The seasoning makes the sauté spicy hot; French bread, torn right from the loaf, helps cool the […]
Praline Soufflé Crêpes
Serving: 8 Print Praline Soufflé Crêpes By Great Chefs November 16, 2015 Tender crêpes are filled with meringue and a lightly spiced rum-pecan custard and baked until puffed like clouds. The custard is also used as a topping for the crepes. Ingredients Meringue Egg Whites – 1-1/4 cups Confectioner’s Sugar – 2 cups Custard Dark […]
Pompano en Papillotte
Serving: 4 Print Pompano en Papillotte By Great Chefs November 16, 2015 Pompano en Papillotte is an elegant traditional Creole dish, crisp parchment paper packets opened to reveal tender fish fillets and shellfish. At Commander’s Palace they are served with Champagne sauce. Ingredients Papillotte Sauce Unsalted Butter – 3 ounces Garlic Clove – 1, minced […]
Veal with Wild Mushrooms
Serving: 4 Print Veal with Wild Mushrooms By Great Chefs November 16, 2015 This is Commander’s Palace classic which is easily made at home. The veal, which could be bland, gets a little kick from the Creole spices. It is served with a wine sauce studded with mushrooms. Ingredients Veal and Mushrooms Veal Cutlets – […]
Tournedos Coliseum
Serving: 4 Print Tournedos Coliseum By Great Chefs November 15, 2015 Seared and cooked in butter, seasoned with Commander’s own version of Creole seasoning, these steaks arrive at the table napped in two different sauces. Both sauces are classics, the golden Bearnaise scented with tarragon and the dark Marchand du Vin rich with red wine. […]
Bread Pudding Soufflé
Serving: 6 to 8 Print Bread Pudding Soufflé By Great Chefs November 15, 2015 Bread pudding is extremely popular in New Orleans, where it is served with serious whiskey sauce. Commander’s Palace prepares this variation, using the bread pudding as the base for a light souffle. Of course there’s whiskey sauce for this version, too! […]
Shrimp Fettuccine
Serving: 4 Print Shrimp Fettuccine By Great Chefs November 15, 2015 Simple to make, in one pot, this delicious shrimp dish carries the New Orleans flavor, including the punch of cayenne pepper. If you are not accustomed to a lot of spice, put only the cayenne pepper into the Creole seasoning mixture last, a little […]
Oyster and Artichoke Soufflé
Serving: 4 Print Oyster and Artichoke Soufflé By Great Chefs November 15, 2015 If ever two flavors were made for each other, oysters and artichokes are “it.” New Orleans loves them together, and they usually appear as soup. At Commander’s Palace, however, nothing is “usual.” Here the artichokes are prepared and turned into holders for […]
Shrimp Chippewa
Serving: 8 Print Shrimp Chippewa By Great Chefs November 15, 2015 Commander’s Palace has been honored by the James Beard Foundation Awards for its outstanding hospitality. The chefs who have cooked in its kitchens are equally outstanding, among them, Gerhard Brill, Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, Jamie Shannon, and, today, Tory McPhail. When Gerhard Brill presided […]