Charles Wilford’s grandfather was not going to let him run the streets. And that’s how he learned to cook.
“You see, my grandfather had a tight grip on me and kept me inside with my grandmother, and I would sit in the kitchen and was amazed by how they would create meals for the family,” recalled Wilford, who in high school went on to work in one of Baton Rouge’s finest restaurants, Jake Staples’ The Place, under the tutelage of chef Amelia Griffin, known as Miss Maude.
“Miss Maude was one of the best in Louisiana,” Wilford said. “I would even put her in the same company as chef Leah Chase, of New Orleans.”
Following a stint in the Navy, Wilford found a new mentor at The Country Club of Louisiana where chef Sonny Creole “put me on the right track and the love for my craft today.”
The 54-year-old
