{"id":8431,"date":"2019-02-08T11:30:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T17:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=8431"},"modified":"2019-02-08T11:15:59","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T17:15:59","slug":"chef-don-gillett-of-freestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2019\/02\/08\/chef-don-gillett-of-freestyle\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Don Gillett Of Freestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freestyle Munchies Food Truck Gives A Gourmet Twist To Burgers, Sandwiches And More<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chef Spotlight \u2022 By Karla Wall<\/em><\/p>\n

After serving as chef in, and actually owning, some of the area\u2019s top high-end restaurants, chef Don Gillett has focused his attention on serving up a menu of next-level sandwiches and other lunch items.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gillett \u201cgrew up cooking wild game\u201d and comes from a family who loves to cook. But he didn\u2019t consider making it a career until the chance to work in a professional kitchen dropped unexpectedly into his lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 19 or 20, and was working at a restaurant, and one of the cooks didn\u2019t feel well,\u201d Gillett recalls. \u201cI was asked to take over for him, and I found that I really liked it. It just felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gillett learned a lot in the kitchen during that first cooking gig, and decided to make it his career. He attended the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, then came south again to work in the Hyatt Regency New Orleans as a rounds chef, a position which allowed him to work in different areas of the kitchen. \u201cI worked banquet, bakery, buffett, everything,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was a real learning experience.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He left the Hyatt Regency to split his time between the Northeast and the Southeast. He worked winters in Ft. Lauderdale at the Hillsboro Club; his summers were spent on Cape Cod, Mass., working at two restaurants there.<\/p>\n

He came home to Lake Charles to work at what was then perhaps the Lake Area\u2019s highest-end restaurant: Chez Oca. From there, he went on to become chef and owner of two other area fine dining establishments: The Vineyard and Chateau Nouveau. That was followed by stints at the City Club, Harrah\u2019s and L\u2019Auberge.<\/p>\n

But he found that he felt a bit isolated in the kitchen. \u201cAs a chef, you\u2019re stuck in the kitchen. I wanted to go back to being around people,\u201d he explains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He found the answer when he purchased a used food truck, re-fitted it and named it Freestyle Munchies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe food truck is just so much more personal,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can visit with the people who eat your food, and they get to visit with the person who cooks their food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another advantage of the food truck, Gillett says, is that it allows him to offer the freshest food possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get fresh, local food cooked to order,\u201d he says. \u201cFood that\u2019s sold on a food truck doesn\u2019t sit around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freestyle Munchies has quickly become one of the most sought-after food trucks in the Lake Area. Gillett has earned quite a following with his casual high-end dishes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll definitely want to check out the popular Munchie Melt, which Gillett describes as \u201ca cross between a mushroom cheeseburger and a patty melt.\u201d It consists of a ground chuck, brisket and short rib patty, Swiss and American cheeses, jalapeno mayo, saut\u00e9ed mushrooms and onions, and bacon jam, all served up between two toasted slices of sourdough Texas toast.<\/p>\n

Or try his shrimp and grits dish: shrimp cooked in an etoufee sauce made from shrimp stock served over panko-crusted deep-fried grits. There\u2019s also the Goudalicious burger: a patty of beef and pork belly, with smoked Gouda cheese, pork belly confit, baby greens and balsamic caramelized onions. And the cordon bleu sandwich, with a fried chicken breast, grilled ham, pork belly confit, smoked Gouda cheese, baby greens, grilled onions and whole grain mustard aioli.<\/p>\n

Freestyle Munchies can be found at all of the big food truck events in Lake Charles: Downtown at Sundown, Live at the Lakefront, at Walnut Grove\u2019s Groovin\u2019 at the Grove and Crying Eagle\u2019s food truck events on the second Thursday of each month.<\/p>\n

On a regular basis, you can find Freestyle Munchies open from 11:30 am-1:30 pm in the parking lot of Carl\u2019s Furniture Rentals on Ryan St. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; at Navarra\u2019s Jewelry across from the Courthouse on Wednesdays; and in the parking lot of Dr. Lee Monlezun\u2019s office in Bayou Pines West off of Lake St. on Fridays.<\/p>\n

Follow Freestyle Munchies on Facebook, or call 540-1051 for schedule updates and other information.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Freestyle Munchies Food Truck Gives A Gourmet Twist To Burgers, Sandwiches And More Chef Spotlight \u2022 By Karla Wall After serving as chef in, and actually owning, some of the area\u2019s top high-end restaurants, chef Don Gillett has focused his attention on serving up a menu of next-level sandwiches and other lunch items.\u00a0   Gillett [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":8432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1779,1902,4,1901,51],"yoast_head":"\nChef Don Gillett Of Freestyle - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2019\/02\/08\/chef-don-gillett-of-freestyle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chef Don Gillett Of Freestyle - 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