The City With Soul

After leaving Louisiana Tech University, Desi graduated from the New England Culinary
Institute in 1998 obtaining an AOS in Culinary Arts. Most of his career was spent in corporate
dining as an Executive Chef and Director for companies like JP Morgan Chase, Cirrus Logic
and most recently Google, Austin. With more than 25 years of corporate experience behind him,
Desi, with the support of his wife, Dianne, ventured out on his own in Ruston, Louisiana, the
town in which he began his culinary career.

Bourgeois Restaurant Group, LLC. was created in 2017, its first concept Grown and Grazed
opened as a food truck in February 2018. The mission of BRG is to enhance the local food
economy by promoting local producers, farmers, and growers, while educating the public about
how food gets to the table. A second concept Staple Sandwich Co. was developed in 2020 to
further that purpose. With the addition of Staple Sandwich Co. BRG solidified its place and set a
new standard in the Downtown Ruston culinary scene.

In 2021, Desi and Dianne purchased the property that housed Grown and Grazed and Staple
Sandwich Co. to create Heard Freighthouse Food Park, an Austin styled food truck park,
complete with a stage and plenty of seating for the building of community. Grown and Grazed
and Staple Sandwich Company anchor the park occupying two of its six spaces.

Currently, BRG, LLC and Heard Freighthouse Development, LLC are developing the former
Heard Wholesale Grocery Warehouse located on the park’s property. The space, known as,
The Heard will contain a commissary kitchen, a full-service restaurant and a craft cocktail bar to
open in late 2025.

Marc Anthony Robert Bynum, three-time Chopped Champion, was born and raised on Long Island among four siblings. Watching his mother cook for the family and observing “the joy on people’s faces while eating” was what initially drew him to being a chef. He always had a gift with his hands, even at an early age, and he has translated that to the presentation of his dishes.

Chef Bynum’s only form of culinary training came at a vocational school while in high school. Thus, with no formal culinary training he relied on his palate and diligent studying of his craft to enhance his knowledge of different food and cuisines. Bynum consistently found himself working for less pay to obtain the experience of cooking in certain restaurants where he sought to gain knowledge of several types of cuisine. This hard work and dedication led Bynum to head some of the most prestigious kitchen restaurants on Long Island including: Four Food Studio, Prime Restaurant, Tellers and Venue 56. In these restaurants, Chef Bynum received three stars from Newsday and The New York Times.

In June of 2010, Chef Marc Anthony Bynum appeared on popular Food Network cooking show, Chopped. He claimed victory twice before coming up short in the season finale of Chopped Champions. The success of the show coupled with his thriving restaurant work, Chef Bynum stepped out on his own and launched his own company, MBynumCreations. The company specializes in hospitality consulting and private events. MBynumCreations has now allowed him to appear at countless charity events where he can draw attention to causes that he is passionate about like childhood obesity and depression.

In November 2014, Chef Bynum returned to his hometown of Farmingdale to open his first restaurant, Hush Bistro. Hush Bistro was an immediate success garnering three stars in Newsday and three stars in The New York Times. Subsequently, Hush Bistro was rated Newsday’s 2015 No. 2 Restaurant in Fine Dining on Long Island.

In late 2015, Chef Bynum returned to the Food Network to compete in Chopped: Impossible featuring other Chopped Champions. History repeated itself and he was declared Chopped Champion, however once reaching the season finale, he was eliminated.

In August 2017, Chef Bynum fulfilled yet another part of his MBynumCreations vision with the launch of Hush Huntington. The big brother of the original Hush Bistro located in Farmingdale, New York. 2016 was a busy year for Bynum with several other accomplishments including: providing craft services for Saturday Night Live; serving the CBS Morning Crew; personal chef services to A-list celebrities and diplomats an appearance on SiriusXM Hip Hop Nation; Hush Bistro being named one of the top 100 Bistros on Long Island; and the most memorable achievement when Chef’s signature St. Louis Style ribs were featured on the O List of the O Magazine in the July Issue with a mention on the front cover of the magazine.

In 2019, Bynum launched the Hush Truck offering his addictive ramen dishes, his signature burger, wings, ribs and more. The truck popped up at various locations through Long Island for two years before he transitioned the truck for special events only. In early 2022, Bynum returned to the Food Network stage appearing on Guy’s Grocery Games with famed host Guy Fieri. In late 2022, Bynum tested his hand at the pizza business opening The Pie Hole in his hometown of Farmingdale. With the goal of finding a kitchen to execute his catering business out of, Bynum became addicted to perfecting the art of pizza making. He began operating the pizzeria with creative pies. Eventually the business model did not pan out and Bynum transitioned back to focus on catering events with his catering company, Marc Bynum Concepts. The company has catered several high-profile events throughout the country from the Rolling Loud, WWWY, Vegandale, SXSW and Okeechobee, establishing itself as a premier off premise and events
caterer.

Chef Bynum’s success is testament to his vision. As he begins his next chapter in Birmingham, Alabama, Bynum is excited to bring his food to the south while also maintaining his ability to travel to produce events worldwide. His motto continues to hold true throughout his career, “The food speaks . . . I just listen.”

Brittany Cochran discovered her passion for food at a young age, learning how to “plow, plant and pick” the ingredients for her family’s meals. “Nothing fancy… just simple, fresh dishes made from scratch… with lots of love,” she explains. “I call it cooking from the heart; caring about the food and the people you’re feeding. If I have a style, that would be it.”Brittany’s style was honed by her first job at the prestigious Jack Nicholas Golf Club, which she leveraged to earn a scholarship at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC where she excelled as a student. Her big break came when she was offered a position at New York City’s famed Italian spot Restaurant Marc Forgione, working under Forgione himself. It was these skills that impressed Chef Bruce Moffet of Moffett Restaurant Group, who brought Brittany back to Charlotte as Executive Chef at Stagioni, where the loyalty of her customers is only surpassed by the loyalty of her employees.

Austin Sumrall, is the chef and owner of White Pillars Restaurant and Lounge in Biloxi, MS. He is a native of McComb, Mississippi, a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Austin met his wife, Gulfport native, Tresse Young Sumrall while in school at Ole Miss. The couple married in October 2012, and moved to Birmingham for Austin to begin his career at the famed Hot and Hot Fish Club under Chef Chris Hastings.

 In 2015 the Sumralls welcomed their son Ollie to the family and began making plans to move back to Mississippi and pursue their dream of opening their own restaurant in their beloved home state. They officially opened the White Pillars in December of 2017 with the goal of championing Mississippi culture and food through farm to table cuisine.

 In 2020 he was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for “Best Chef South.” In 2021 he brought home the title of “King of American Seafood 2021.” after winning top prize in the Great American Seafood Cookoff. This year he was featured in two Food Network televised cooking competitions. He came in second on the Southern round of Chopped National tournament and brought home the winning title against Iron Chef, Alex Guarnaschelli on her show, Alex vs America.