Chef Nina Compton’s Culinary Journey from St. Lucia to New Orleans

Growing up on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, Chef Nina Compton developed a strong connection between food and community. She was drawn to the City of New Orleans after filming BRAVO’s Top Chef Season 11 filmed in the Big Easy. She was named runner-up chef contestant and voted fan favorite. It brought her national fame and event more. While filming during the show’s grueling schedule, Compton became enchanted by the delicious Creole melting pot of New Orleans, the city she now calls home.

In 2015 she opened Compère Lapin at the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in the Warehouse District (535 Tchoupitoulas Street). Compère Lapin melds the flavors of Compton’s Caribbean upbringing with her love for French and Italian cuisine, while highlighting the ingredients of the Gulf Coast and Louisiana. The restaurant’s name comes from a Caribbean and Creole folk tale about a mischievous rabbit.

Compton grew up in a family devoted to service. Her father was the late Sir John George Melvin Compton, three-time prime minister of St. Lucia. The fourth of five children, Compton enjoyed cooking with her English grandmother, Phyllis. At age sixteen, she knew she wanted to be a chef. Though her family was initially wary of her aspirations, they supported her by arranging an internship at a restaurant in Jamaica.

She enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 2001. She took a job at Daniel in New York City, working alongside renowned chef/restaurateur Daniel Boulud and his team. She continued to hone her skills in Miami working with Chef Philippe Ruiz at Palme d’Or at the Biltmore Hotel and both James Beard Award-Winning Chefs Norman Van Aken at Norman’s and Scott Conant at Scarpetta at the Fontainebleau Hotel. It was while she was working at the Fontainebleau that Compton received a casting call from the Top Chef producers. Chef Conant encouraged her to seize the opportunity.

Since opening Compère Lapin, Compton has received many awards including 2018 James Beard “Best Chef South” and Food & Wine’s “40 Most Important Restaurants of the Past 40 Years. In April 2025, Compton released her first book, Kwéyòl / Creole: Recipes, Stories and Tings from a St. Lucian’s Chef Journey (with Osayi Endolyn) (Penguin Random House). She writes about her culinary journey from St. Lucia to Jamaica, Miami, and New Orleans through the people, places and recipes that have shaped her life.

On The Connected Table podcast, Nina Compton discusses her family and St. Lucian roots and what “Kwéyòl/Creole” means to her. She shares her approach to cooking, running her restaurants, and supporting her community, as well as how she stays focused and balanced under the spotlight of culinary stardom.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5Dgsm0Vek
Listen: iHeart Radio

Compère Lapin is open for dinner 7 nights a week Sunday-Thursday 5:30-9 p.m., Friday- Saturday 5:30-10 p.m. Brunch is offered Saturdays and Sundays 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The menu is a la carte. There is also a $70 per person prix-fixe “Just Feed Me” option.  Full table participation is required. The bar is recognized for its cocktails, and the well-priced wine list was curated with care to ensure offerings pair well with the restaurant’s Caribbean flavors. Private parties are welcome.

Here are a few more photos from our dinner May 27, 2025 at Compère Lapin take by David Ransom (unless noted).