Morgan City native Brian Blanchard never intended to become a restaurateur. He arrived in Lafayette to play baseball and study engineering at USL (now ULL) and soon realized he could not play ball and pass his classes at the same time. So, in 1984, he decided to quit the sport and get a job as a busboy and dishwasher at iMonelli Restaurant, a small Italian spot just a few miles from school, then owned by Jewell and Bob Lowe. “It was most probably the most difficult decision I ever made in my life, but it was also the best decision I ever made in my life,” he shares.

Blanchard moved up the ranks at iMonelli, over time getting promoted to waiter then maître d’. “Mr. Lowe bought me a tuxedo, because I didn’t have the wardrobe necessary to be in the front,” he reveals. His transition from the front of the restaurant to the kitchen, he recalls, was a matter of logic. Even though he was a sharp-dressed, good-looking man, he noticed that all of the female customers walked right past him and asked for the chef. “So I thought, ‘The place to be is in the kitchen,’” he says with a laugh. “I need to learn how to cook this food, because evidently women like a man that can cook.”

The chef at the time was Jimmy Distefano of the Baton Rouge restaurant dynasty that included The Village, Jack Sabin’s and The Little Village. On Blanchard’s rare nights off, he liked to join Distefano in the kitchen. One night an order came in, and the chef said that he would show Blanchard how to prepare it. But young Blanchard had been watching all along and surprised Chef Distefano by cooking the dish himself – fettuccini alfredo and veal funghi. “It was just something that came naturally,” he recalls. “I get this idea of what I want something to taste like, because I’m hungry for it, and I just cook it and make it taste that way.”

A few months later, Distefano left, and the 22-year-old Blanchard was promoted to chef. Blanchard had become more interested in business, so he changed his major in college, and, by that time Don Levy, who had purchased the restaurant from the Lowes, was trying to sell it. In 1987 he approached Blanchard about buying iMonelli. The young chef was interested in owning the restaurant, but he needed to find the financing.

He went to the bank first, and the loan officer, Blanchard recalls, “laughed at me, basically.”

Levy agreed that if Blanchard could come up with half of the money, he would finance the rest. Blanchard approached his father for financial help, but he “basically wanted to strangle me,” Blanchard says. Then he went to his maternal grandfather Joseph Cefalu, a Sicilian. “He just looked at me and said, ‘Son, I’m not the bank. No matter what happens here, you’ll always have to pay the family back,’” Blanchard remembers. He promised he would.

On New Year’s Eve in 1988, Blanchard officially became the owner of iMonelli. At the time, he had $114 to his name, and the oil bust had hit the area hard. For six years, he worked every day, except for occasional Sundays. “Things were awful in town,” he recalls. “It was a huge financial struggle.”

Still, he was able to pay back Levy and his grandfather in three years, and eventually business started picking up, thanks to loyal customers. “Truly how I survived was through wonderful customers who refused to let me fail,” he shares. In particular he remembers Edward and Betty Villareal, who came every Thursday and Saturday night. And monthly, Ed reserved the restaurant for Friday employee luncheons. “He was part of the reason I survived,” Blanchard shares fondly.

In 1993 Blanchard bought the restaurant property. “That sort of was the turning point,” he admits. Over the years, regular customers and newcomers made iMonelli one of the premier restaurants in Acadiana, which is quite an accomplishment, considering that none of Chef Blanchard’s recipes is written down. Still, he has quite a following, and his cooking classes book up so fast that he offers them on two consecutive nights.

What is Blanchard’s key to success? The chef says that besides a faithful staff – some of whom have been with him more than 20 years – his strong family upbringing is what sets him up to succeed. “My dad raised me to follow three things: faith first, then family, and then an unrelenting will to succeed,” he reveals. “Failure is not an option, and that is how I’ve lived my life.”

TASTY TUNA

iMonelli’s unique Tuna Napoleon appetizer is like a caprese salad – but notches above. Instead of tomatoes, the mozzarella slices are sandwiched by gorgeously grilled rare tuna, then accented with olive oil and basil. Talk about tasty!

TOP CHOP

Offered as a chef’s special, the veal chop – a prime cut of bone-in veal – is hardwood grilled and finished with a veal stock cognac cream sauce. Served over garlic mashed potatoes and accompanied with a side of asparagus, this entrée is truly a cut above the rest.

TO-DIE-FOR DESSERTS

Pastry Chef Eve Richard makes all desserts in-house and is always coming up with new creations. Among her specialties are Bourbon Brown Sugar Peach Cheesecake (pictured), Yummy Pie (pecan crust, cream cheese whipped with powdered sugar, chocolate custard, and whipped cream with pecans), Berry Pavlova, and Brownie with Port Blackberry Mousse. Desserts vary nightly, so try a different one every time!