Make the béchamel:

Place the butter, onion, garlic, cloves, nutmeg, salt, bay leaf and lemon zest in a pot over medium-low heat. Sweat down all ingredients until tender but without color.

Whisk in the flour and cook for 5 minutes to eliminate the raw flavor.

Add the milk to the pot and whisk with the roux and vegetables over medium heat.

Bring to a simmer and lower heat.

Cook over low heat for 20 minutes, careful not to scorch the sauce.

Strain the béchamel through a fine-mesh strainer into a separate bowl once cooked and cool to room temperature.

Make the crab gratin:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cooled béchamel, salt, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest, hot sauce, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and celery salt in a mixing bowl and whisk until just combined.

Add the picked jumbo lump crab into the mixture and fold together, careful to keep the crab meat as intact as possible.

In a separate bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and melted butter.

Add the crab mixture to your baking dish and top with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for 11 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Garnish with chives and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve.

Courtesy of Alon Shaya, Chef and Co-Founder, Pomegranate Hospitality (New Orleans: Saba, Saba's Lounge, Miss River and Chandelier Bar at Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans; Denver: Safta; Bahamas: Silan at Atlantis Paradise Island).