Moses Jackson Cajun & Creole Chef, Bethesda

Chef Moses has a surefire way to ensure everything he cooks brims with the best ingredients and flavors—he imagines it's for his mother. The veteran chef cooked his first meal, which was a steak dinner, for his mom at the age of 10 before eventually going on to train at the Culinary Institute of New Orleans. The burgeoning cook then honed his skills by working under renowned chefs Emeril Laggasse and Paul Prudhomme at their respective restaurants.

Today, the now-seasoned chef creates his own signature dishes—such as a crawfish bisque and pasta jambalaya—that blend old family recipes with his own unique additions, earning himself features in Louisiana Cooking Magazine and on WWL-TV News. All the while, he cooks with a firm grasp on the differences between Cajun and Creole cooking, which mostly come down to the spice level, origin, and astrological sign of Cajun and Creole shrimp. In addition to using catering trays as his canvases, he showcases his culinary talents during classes that teach novice chefs how to prepare their own restaurant-quality meals.