At in Baton Rouge, soul food fixings are served with a Caribbean twist, and the kitchen has a familiar football face.
Located at 3015 Westfork Drive, the elevated soul food restaurant grand opens at 5 p.m. today with a menu that incorporates h cuisine with Caribbean infusion, inspired by the Jamaican roots of co-executive chef and former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey — joined by 15-year Baton Rouge chef Ja’Ron Johnson Sr.
“What better food did you get than going to your mom’s house on a Sunday evening and having a meal with the family?” said co-owner Charles George.
Joelle’s Soul & Savour grand opened on Sept. 11, 2026, serving soul food with Caribbean fusion.
By Maddie Scott
Think jerk grilled lamb chops, Jamaican-style braised oxtails and red snapper served with dirty rice. Customers can get the best of both worlds with soulful sides like mac and cheese, candied yams and red beans and rice.
George and other co-owner Martin Knightshead wanted to open a restaurant that serves traditional h food with an element of surprise while enjoying a comfortable, elevated atmosphere. Knightshead took it to heart when his daughter said she wanted her own restaurant one day, hence naming the restaurant after her.
“We didn’t want to take away from the home-cooked meal experience, but we wanted to add to the appearance of it, to give people a really unique feel for what we’re putting on a plate for them,” George said.
Where soul meets Caribbean
Born and raised on a family farm in Jamaica, Davey grew up picking peas and learning the ins and out of cooking from his grandfather, grandmother, great uncles and his mother.
Joelle’s Soul & Savour is located at 3015 Westfork Drive, Baton Rouge.
By Maddie Scott
The farm’s produce included onions, sweet potatoes, citrus and pineapples, and animals like cows, goats, pigs and chickens were slaughtered and sold at the market every Friday and Saturday, Davey said. He remembers growing up with soups, jerk chicken, curries and ackee and saltfish — Jamaica’s national dish.
After playing for LSU from 1998 to 2001, Davey retired from the field in 2013 and started his culinary career with the opening of his Jamaican catering business, Quick 6 Catering. Now at Joelle’s, he collaborates with Johnson, from h, to fuse the two cuisines. Johnson has a 15-year career in Baton Rouge kitchens, including stints at Jubans and Colonel’s Club.
“When it comes to creativity, we both collab or create together,” Davey said. “When it comes to the process, especially working in a bigger space, larger proportions and things of that nature — Chef J and his mind for it is just awesome.”
Grilled lambchops from Joelle’s Soul & Savour
By Sonya Goss
One of Davey’s favorite dishes is the lamb chops. From start to finish, he trims the fat off New Zealand lamb chops in 4-ounce portions and marinates them in a dry and wet jerk sauce for 24 to 30 hours to eliminate the gamey taste. They’re grilled at a high temperature on each side for about two and a half minutes and seasoned with a pineapple-honey-mango glaze.
“It does give you a little kick of spiciness,” Davey said. “So, we try to cool you off with the sweetness and the tanginess of the pineapple-mango-honey glaze.”
Garnished with a flower, the lamb chops are served with asparagus and a choice of garlic mashed potatoes or candied yams.
Millionaire spinach dip from Joelle’s Soul & Savour
By Sonya Goss
The seafood pasta au Joelle’s is a mix of shrimp, crab and crawfish stirred into a creamy sauce seasoned with h spice. It’s served with three garlic knots seared with garlic butter to awaken the roll’s flavors, George said.
Try the millionaire’s spinach dip, an appetizer George says is unbelievable. One of Rohan’s favorite bites is the crawfish boudin dip served with grilled crostini and made with boudin from off Greenwell Springs Road.
George doesn’t want people to miss the brunch menu, so it’ll be available all Sunday with dishes including chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits or sweet potato waffles with praline cream syrup.
Joelle’s 75 from Joelle’s Soul & Savour
By Maddie Scott
The selection of cocktails includes some eye-catching garnishes. One, the BarVana, is a tropical sip with pineapple and white rum, Blue Curaçao and garnished with a toothpick structure of citrus and berries. For something chic, try the Joelle’s 75, a mix of strawberry lemonade, cognac and fernet, garnished with a strawberry rose.
Step inside
The building once belonged to the Hawk’s Nest, a 50-year restaurant that closed in 2019. The space spans 6,000 square feet and features 160 seats between the indoor, bar and patio dining areas.
Upon walking in, guests will see a wall covered floor to ceiling in flowers, greenery and two swings, making for a picture-perfect photo backdrop. Turn right and enter the main dining area which features an almost monochrome-grey color palette with pops of blues and whites.
“I want them to have a comfortable, casual dining experience, but we want them to elevate it as much as they feel they want to,” George said about the customers.
Joelle’s Soul & Savour is located at 3015 Westfork Drive, Baton Rouge.
By Maddie Scott
Charcoal-grey leather seats and white marble tables under chandeliers envelop the main dining area, and local art by Gillian Stevens adorns the walls.
One dining area’s walls wear a Baton Rouge mural scene by local artist , featuring cultural emblems such as Louisian’s Capitol, the Horace Wilkinson Bridge and logos of LSU and Southern University.
“It’s for everybody,” Davey said about the Joelle’s. “That’s one of the biggest things that I want to get across is that everybody is welcome.”
In about a month, the restaurant will get a food truck to feed those sitting in the patio area, Davey said. It’ll have a completely new menu equipped with finger foods like jerk chicken or pork tacos, tostones, jerk quesadillas, wings and kebabs.
Charles George is co-owner of Joelle’s Soul & Savour, 3015 Westfork Drive, Baton Rouge.
By Maddie Scott
The goal
George said he believes that people in Baton Rouge deserve the same excitement surrounding the local food scene as people in other major cities like Dallas, Chicago and Miami. He wants to bring that same excitement with Joelle’s, and if the team gets it right, he hopes to eventually take the brand to other cities.
“The goal is to have the perfect blueprint created here in Baton Rouge, and then we take that, and we move that to other cities as we grow,” George said.
For Davey, he’s thankful to work with the team and staff at Joelle’s, who has already taught him a lot.
“It’s a space that I love to be in,” Davey said. “Football, family and food are my passions. Football, of course, I’m done with that. Now it’s the food component.”
Joelle’s Soul & Savour, 3015 Westfork Drive, Baton Rouge.
Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and an all-day brunch served 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Closed Mondays. Reservations are strongly recommended.