Food
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Peace, Love & Pasta
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A conversation with Chef Scott Conant, whose new Bahamas restaurant is gaining raves.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE APRIL 2026 | STORY BY NIKIA WELLS
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE APRIL 2026 | STORY BY NIKIA WELLS
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAHA MAR
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Chef Scott Conant has built a career around balance. His food is elegant but never complicated, rooted in Italian traditions yet always open to learning something new. When he talks about cooking, it’s not just about the ingredients: it’s about generosity, patience, and paying attention.
Conant recently opened Leola at the Baha Mar resort in Nassau. The grand opening on Nov. 7 drew a crowd of food lovers and friends from across the islands and beyond. The restaurant officially opened its doors to guests the next day, marking a new chapter for the chef who has spent decades shaping modern Italian cuisine in America.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAHA MAR
Celebrating the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival, Scott Conant joins a roster of chefs including Marcus Samuelsson, Carla Hall, Geoffrey Zakarian, Simeon Hall Jr., and Marv “MrMixx Bahamas” Cunningham.
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Before Leola opened, Conant had already given diners a taste of what was coming. At the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival in late October, he joined a lineup that included local chefs and international talent. He cooked at several private dinners and the festival’s A Taste of Baha Mar event, which was headlined by Lenny Kravitz.
When asked what made the festival special, Conant doesn’t hesitate. “It is 100% the people,” he says. “Spending time in the kitchens and getting to know everyone, people have such a generous spirit here. It’s so touching to be able to spend time with them. It’s so warm and inviting. People are willing to bring you in, and I really appreciate that.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAHA MAR
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That sense of connection is something he tries to bring into every kitchen he leads. “It’s important to teach, but it’s more important to also learn,” he says. “I always say it’s like pointing with an open hand. You’re getting your point across, but you’re also accepting at the same time. That’s how you grow.”
Conant’s new restaurant, Leola, is a reflection of that philosophy. He describes the menu as an extension of his experience rather than a strict interpretation of Italian food. “I love Italian food. I grew up with Italian American food. I’ve worked with many Italians and traveled through Italy, but I don’t cook like an Italian-American,” he says. “I cook like an American who lived in Italy.”
His focus is simplicity, though he admits that true simplicity takes skill. “There’s a whole chapter in my book, Peace, Love, and Pasta, about simplicity,” he said. “It’s not simple, but it’s seemingly simple. It’s about understanding flavors enough to coax the natural flavor out of every ingredient.”
Among the dishes he’s most excited to serve are his signature spaghetti al pomodoro, made with the same sauce that inspired his new line of tomato sauces, and a hearty vegetable-and-farro risotto with braised short ribs and horseradish. “That’s a good one,” he says with a smile. “I’m looking forward to serving people that.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAHA MAR
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He also talks fondly about the stromboli, a warm, comforting bread stuffed with meat and cheese. “That’s another good one for people,” he says. “But there’s so much on the menu. I think that moment of sitting at the table, ordering focaccia or stromboli and a bunch of antipasti, just grazing and tasting different things … that’s what we want.”
The name Leola has its own story. “It’s kind of a play on lioness in Italian,” Conant explains. “Leone means lion, and Leola just sounded right. It flows off the tongue, it’s easy to say, and nobody else can own that name except me now, so it’s good.”
When he talks about The Bahamas, there’s real appreciation in his voice. He recalls a simple whitefish soup he had at Marcus Samuelsson’s restaurant at Baha Mar. “It looked so simple, but when you taste it, there are so many layers of flavor,” he says. “That’s the type of food that inspires me. That spirit of generosity, when people bring you something to taste just because they love food too, that’s what it’s all about.”
For Conant, opening Leola isn’t about building another restaurant empire. It’s about sharing what he loves most: food that feels honest. Between his new cookbook, Peace, Love, and Pasta, his growing sauce line, and this new home in The Bahamas, Conant continues to remind us that the heart of great cooking lies in simplicity and connection.
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