Jeremy Reilly

At Chef Jeremy Reilly’s first job in the restaurant industry in Picayune, MS, he learned crawfishing, shrimping and a strong work ethic. During college at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Reilly worked at Rabb’s steakhouse (Willie Nelson’s favorite) and a fine Italian restaurant where he learned to make different pizza doughs and styles of pasta. Reilly also spent two years exploring molecular gastronomy in the California culinary scene (“tasteless,” he declares), and appreciates working with friend Brent Belsom at the Abita Springs Café for teaching him the business side of the restaurant industry. Reilly credits a willingness to listen and learn from as many people as possible as key to his growth, as well the healthy competitive spirit that drives him; “I love it when new restaurants open up!”

In 2013, when he was just 26, after Kevin Young of KY’s Olde Towne Bicycle Shop showed him the location on Carey Street in Slidell, chef/owner Reilly renovated the historic building and has been a key player in the renaissance of Olde Towne with his Restaurant Côté. Jeremy’s mission is to create a comfortable relaxing environment, just as the name suggests: the creole definition of Côté is “at the home of.” Reilly’s proud of the camaraderie he shares with the great group of business owners revitalizing Olde Towne.

Chef Reilly runs a “true scratch” kitchen in Côté. All ingredients are sourced from within sixty miles of the restaurant, and there are no microwaves or freezers in his kitchen. Some ingredients are found steps away from the kitchen in Reilly’s garden out back.

An avid hunter, fisherman, and gardener, Jeremy takes pride in using every bit of Mother Nature’s bounty and plates unforgettable comfort food that makes his patrons feel right at home. Reilly creates unique Southern Creole cuisine with an ever-changing menu. Daily lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch specials spotlight what’s available and fresh locally and seasonally.  He credits Cote’s late chef Tramone Kirby for teaching him that Creole cuisine is constant, and can be influenced by any number of cultures.

The Maple Room, Chef Jeremy Reilly’s adjacent cocktail lounge, is as comfortable as your living room for an after-work drink, and many of the ingredients for the scratch craft cocktails are grown by Jeremy in the garden out back, including fresh herbs, cucumbers, and jalapeños. Six different liquors are infused in house and nine different simple syrups are made from scratch, in addition to the twenty beers on tap and forty different wines The Maple Room carries.

When he’s not at the restaurant or has a day off, Jeremy loves spending time with his family.