Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Brune.
NOLA Restaurant Group Culinary Director and Chef, Kevin Brune “knows what it means to miss New Orleans.” That’s why he’s been bringing the flavor of the Big Easy to Central Florida for 20 years. From helping develop the original “Mardi Gras” events at Universal Studios, to bringing “Voodoo Kitchen” to the Orlando food truck scene, to the soon-to-be-open micro restaurant NOLA Avalon Park, the third-generation Louisiana native’s story of “NOLA” continues.
The youngest in a large family, born to Gus and Joyce after they left New Orleans for Lafayette, Chef Kevin claims he’s “a little more Cajun” than the rest of his Big Easy family. “But,” he says with a local’s passion, “the Crescent City is in my DNA.”
For Kevin, cooking is a generational thing. He discovered the art of flavor in his Mom’s busy little kitchen, stirring the family’s black iron jam pot with his brother Mike and sister Pam. Of course, none of the old family recipes were written down, so Kevin learned to taste his way into the dishes passed along from his NaNan, MawMaw, and Ma Mère.
Tucked inside the food hall within The Marketplace at Avalon Park every dish at NOLA comes rich in history, crafted with traditional ingredients by the hands who know, with the goal of delivering ALL the flavors of New Orleans in a toe-tapping, taste bud-tickling culinary experience.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Wow. From a food truck owner’s perspective, the challenges seem to come from every angle. A Central Florida thunderstorm can wash away a week’s profit with one ill-timed downpour during lunch rush. A blown tire, an overheated generator, or a fickle fryer can ruin your day pretty quickly too.
The transition from food truck to food hall would have been smooth except for that pesky global pandemic. We signed our contract with Avalon Park Group in March of 2020, about a week before the world went on lockdown.
We’re set to open in about 30 days from now which will be almost exactly one year later than we expected.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My career path has been pretty diverse. I actually moved to Orlando from New Orleans in the fall of 1989. Central Florida, and Orlando specifically, was supposed to become “Hollywood East” and I had the acting bug. I moved here to pursue a career in TV and film but that didn’t exactly go as planned – I actually got more work while I was in New Orleans. Just like almost everyone else, I worked at Disney – “How many in your party? Watch your step. The platform is moving at the same speed as the ride vehicle…” – while auditioning for anything and everything.
I jumped on the Universal Studios train and was a member of the first graduating class of tour guides. We actually gave tours to VIPs and clients and investors before there was water in the lagoon. Being a part of that opening team was awesome! I worked my way up the proverbial ladder from Tour Guide to Director of Entertainment.
After Universal, my wife Diana and I moved to Atlantic City, NJ and I was on the opening team for House of Blues there. But we missed our Orlando family deeply so we moved back really really quickly! Diana was able to get her Disney job back, and I was offered a job with The American Culinary Federation – The ACF.
The ACF National Headquarters is in St. Augustine, and I drove 110 miles each way – for over six years! It was in my role there as Director of Events that I learned the catering and operational side of culinary, and I worked closely with some amazing professional chefs from all over the USA.
I left ACF and took a contracted role for YPO planning international conferences. I was two weeks away from leaving Orlando for Istanbul when my brother suddenly passed away. I had to rethink everything at that point and I decided to not go overseas.
It was February of 2013. I found myself unemployed and grieving the loss of my brother. In March of 2013, I said to my wife “I should start a food truck and serve real Louisiana cuisine to the people in Orlando”. In April she came up with the name Voodoo Kitchen and we hit the streets for the first time in September of that year…
Eight years later, after more than 1500 bookings and nearly 55,000 miles driven, we’re ready to open another Louisiana-themed eatery!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
God has blessed me with so many gifts, the most special of which is my wife Diana. She is my biggest supporter, without a doubt. She encourages me daily to stay true to my roots, and she has embraced my love for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Region where I grew up, with a love of her own. My parents taught me that food and family should be celebrated! My sister Pam embodies the trademark New Orleans mantra of “laissez les bon temps roulet”
My brother Mike was 14 years older than me and was my idol. He taught me how to fish, how to boil crawfish, how to be a true LSU Tiger fan, and how to make that special girl feel extra special. He was my Best Man.
Mike also taught me that when you make a gumbo or a jambalaya or an étouffée you are not just cooking to feed. You are representing your heritage, and that should always be taken seriously. This whole culinary adventure is dedicated to him.
Diana and I also have an incredible network of friends who are more than friends in the traditional sense. The kind of friends who you bring to your house, cook 10 or 12 dishes for, and ask them for their honest feedback before you launch a business that depends upon whether or not the food they are tasting would be something they would pay for if they weren’t our friends. Yea, those kinds of friends. You know who you are!
Contact Info:
- Email: kevin@NOLA-AvalonPark.com
- Website: www.NOLA-AvalonPark.com www.VoodooKitchenFoodTruck.com www.MarketplaceAtAvalonPark.com
- Instagram: @NOLA_AvalonPark
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NOLAAvalonPark
