Jesse Romero, a Baton Rouge resident who appeared on FOX’s MasterChef competition, plans to bring Acadiana cooking to Clark Gaines’ White Star Market on Government Street.
Romero’s restaurant will be called Robear Ln. and will feature a variety of Acadiana-inspired dishes with a rotating menu of meats and Cajun-style sides served daily. The menu staple will be deboned chicken and pork tenderloins stuffed with boudin, sausage, cornbread or seafood stuffing.
When Clark Gaines and his wife began developing the concept for White Star Market—which is expected to open early next year in Mid City—one of the first people they consulted was local chef Jay Ducote.
Gaines wanted to discuss the food hall concept with Ducote and see if the former Food Network Starfinalist would be interested in helping to promote it. Ducote’s initial reaction was that it sounded like a very cool concept and a good way for people to get into the culinary business at a reasonable startup cost.
