Morgan City is poised to get a serious injection of culinary sophistication, as an upcoming restaurant called The Teche will offer a Taiwanese-American menu inspired by its classically trained chef-owners, married couple Jason and Chelsea Lin. Jason recently told What Now New Orleans that the project is still in its early stages and will likely open by the end of the year.
The couple met as students at the Culinary Institute of America in California’s Napa Valley. After years working in prominent kitchens and as private chefs on the West Coast, they decided to plant roots in Louisiana to bring their unique perspective to the local food scene. While Chelsea is from Morgan City, Jason spent his early years in Taiwan before moving to California when he was 8 years old.
Jason said diners can expect a menu of sharable, family-style dishes that celebrate cross-cultural flavors and local sourcing.
“The food will reflect different parts of our lives,” he said. “We will be using Louisiana ingredients to reflect Taiwanese flavors and techniques, and there will also a little bit of California in there.”
One signature dish will be lu rou fan — traditional Taiwanese-style braised pork over rice—reimagined with house-made noodles. There will also be a dry-aged duck on the menu, seasoned with Taiwanese Maqaw peppers and high mountain tea.
The beverage program will also take an intentional, yet personal approach. The full bar will feature classic cocktails alongside an curated selection of Japanese whiskies and spirits from Kavalan, a distillery located in Jason Lin’s hometown of Yilan. The wine list will emphasize selections from the West Coast, drawing on the hundreds of wineries the couple visited together during their culinary school years in Napa Valley.
While The Teche might sound sophisticated, the beverage program, sharable plates, and Lins’ concept in general are meant to foster a relaxed environment where guests feel personally welcomed.
“We don’t have a sommelier, we don’t have a mixologist or anything like that,” Jason said. “The experience we want guests to have is feeling like they’re coming into our house for dinner, and this is how we would treat you: eat, drink and have fun.”
