Touche French Creole works to bring flavors of New Orleans to downtown Aurora

Chicago Tribune

5 hours ago

Those who have visited New Orleans or have a hankering for southern flavors may find what they are looking for at a new restaurant in downtown Aurora.
The JH Hospitality group launched Touche French Creole in April at 6 N. River St., one of a trio of restaurants it has opened in the historic Hobbs Building.
The venue joins others located on either side of it at the Hobbs Building including Giardino Trattoria & Pizzeria at 12 N. River St. and Leilani Asian Fusion at 2 N. River St.
According to a press release from the JH Hospitality group, the 80-seat Touche French Creole restaurant led by chefs Keonte' Tooles and Rayshawn Hendricks offers 'a fresh, modern spotlight, pairing classic dishes with innovative touches and delicious cocktails. Diners can expect elevated takes on Southern staples like shrimp and grits, po' boys, and rich, flavorful etouffees.'
Aurora resident Harish Ananthapadmanabhan, a partner with the JH group, said the vision is to help 'make downtown Aurora a truly international food destination.'
'Our goal is that on every weekend all the patrons in the surrounding area think of downtown Aurora as a destination,' he said. 'The more people that come in – they have different options to chose from and that means all the restaurants can thrive. We're bringing in international cuisines to create options but also having things that are reasonably priced.'
The JH Hospitality group flew its chefs down to New Orleans to visit a number of local restaurants there to learn more about their culinary approaches as well as to help design the menu of Touche French Creole.
He said his group has also made the chefs partial owners in the venue, offering them 'an equity stake so they have more a sense of ownership' in the venture.
'That's exactly the same thing we did with Giardino's as well,' he said. 'That's the overall model.'
Hendricks, 25, said he has been cooking since high school.
'After high school, I did attend Joliet Junior College where they have a really good culinary program and studied behind an Italian chef and a pastry chef there,' he said. 'I had a lot of French training and techniques at the school and now we've taken that and fused it with the creole aspect so it's kind of refined comfort food.'
Hendricks said the restaurant also offers 'classic French dishes like beef bourguignon and things like that, but most of our menu is New Orleans-based.'
'We have things like fried catfish, shrimp and grits, shrimp etouffee and beignets,' he said. 'In terms of what's been popular, people like our crab cake, our catfish is the number one entree and the shrimp and grits is number two. The people that come in here so far are looking for the New Orleans feel.
'If people haven't been exposed to this, a lot of it is seafood heavy. It's comfort food and reminds people of home,' Hendricks added. 'As a young chef, I want to bring being different and want it to stand out with the cuisine and the creativity.'
Stu Saucier of Oswego, 44, works as a sous chef and oversees food preparation at the restaurant and said he brings 10 years of experience to the food industry.
'I've worked at VAI's in Naperville and 113 Main in Oswego and also in the Turf Room in North Aurora,' he said. 'I was working in schools before this and I left restaurants for a while and I was looking to get back in the kitchen and the menu intrigued me. I'm actually French so seeing the French creole sign attracted me. It's an ideal fit.'
Saucier said one of the key parts of food preparation is technique.
'When you're a cook it's executing a menu and elevating a menu so when you get a recipe – you're a robot – you do the same thing every time,' he said. 'When you're a chef you build that toolbox up and start learning more techniques and use those to innovate and create and makes things new. It's like being a teacher – you always learn something new.'
Marshon Crowder, 26, of Aurora, works as the manager at Touche French Creole and said for him, he has enjoyed the hospitality side of the business.
'It's not been the food, it's the people and I tend to think of myself as a huge people person,' he said. 'I feel like I can connect with a wide variety of people which is what brought me into this. I think this is becoming a destination not only for the Chicago area but the Midwest in general. Downtown Aurora is becoming more vibrant, more lively, and it feels great.'
In addition to its dinner menu, Touche French Creole will offer a weekend brunch every Saturday and Sunday.
The restaurants hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information, go to ToucheFrenchCreole.com.