Second Annual NOLA's Backyard

 

F&B executives take inspiration from the food ways and folk ways of Louisiana Bayou country.

A group of food and beverage executives from major hotel and restaurant groups gathered in October for our second annual NOLA’s Backyard conference without classrooms. They heard the stories and met the characters, the farmers, the fishermen, the producers, and the cooks who make this one of the most colorful regions in the United States. They learned about the culinary contributions of the seven nations that created the modern day gumbo that makes Louisiana cuisine so exciting.

Sugah! Sugah! was the theme. They hit the cane fields, visited a sugar house, and followed the process from cane to candy. They were surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of the cane harvest. They dined like the sugar barons on the grounds of Chef John Folse’s White Oak Plantation in Baton Rouge, a Greek Revival mansion on sweeping manicured grounds graced with massive oaks.

Chef John Folse, a raconteur par excellence and an expert on Louisiana history, led the road trip through the Bayous.

Chicago Chef Takes top Prize

Chicago Chef Takes Top Prize

By Tricia Contreras, June 07, 2016.

Chef Jason Paskewitz of Chicago’s The Blanchard beat out a dozen other chefs to win first place in the 19th annual Championship BBQ and Cookout in Chicago last month. The event drew more than 800 restaurant, food service and hospitality professionals to Galleria Marchetti on May 22 to sample barbecue dishes and cocktails from participating chefs and bartenders and support World Central Kitchen, an international organization founded by chef Jose Andres to seek smart solutions to end hunger and poverty.

Paskewitz presented grilled duck sausage with foie gras mustard and onion confit on a brioche bun. “It’s indicative of what I do at The Blanchard. It’s a French restaurant, so I had to get some foie gras in there,” he said.

Duck may not be common barbecue fare, but this is the second year in a row that the Championship BBQ and Cookout judging panel awarded a chef for taking a risk with an unusual protein. Last year’s winner, Stephen “Smokey” Schwartz of Burnt End BBQ in Kansas, impressed the judges with a dish of rabbit.

Second place went to chef Cory Morris of Rural Society for his short rib with elote garnish and white barbecue sauce. Also a winner that evening was Unilever Food Solutions, which took home the honor of best table design. The tablescape was “fashioned after a roadside grill as a fictional customer on the company’s Burger Route,” Senior Channel Marketing Manager Jen Rosman said. “We wanted to highlight, if you were a fast casual restaurant, this is what it could look like in your restaurant.”

This year’s BBQ was held in honor of Michael Batterberry, founder of Food Arts and Food and Wine magazines. “We are proud to produce this world class event, spotlighting the tremendous culinary talent in Chicago,” said Barbara Mathias, event organizer and former publisher of Food Arts magazine. “We are equally proud to be able to bring together this community of the restaurant industry and suppliers, and to support such a worthy charity. We are looking forward to our 20th celebration next May!”

SmartBrief is the media sponsor of the Championship BBQ and Cookout.

This article was originally posted by SmartBrief.

 

Sugah! Sugah!

The invitation letter has gone out for the second annual NOLA's Backyard October 11 to 13 2016,  The theme is Sugah! Sugah!

We would like to invite you to participate in the second annual NOLA’s Backyard, a Flavor Foray (FlavorForays.com) into the food ways and folk ways of Louisiana’s Bayou country October 11-13, 2016. There’s no sitting in auditoriums or ballrooms. Instead, you will hear the stories and meet the characters, the farmers, the fishermen, the producers and the cooks who make the Bayou country one of the most colorful regions of the United States. We’ll learn about the culinary contributions of the seven nations that created the modern day gumbo that makes Louisiana cuisine so exciting.

Sugah! Sugah! will be our theme. We’ll hit the cane fields, visit a sugar house and follow the process from cane to candy. We’ll be surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of the cane harvest as leaves are burned after cane is cut and smoke billows from the sugar mills. Is that a hint of molasses in the air? We’ll dine like the sugar barons on the grounds of Chef John Folse’s White Oak Plantation in Baton Rouge. Think Gone With the Wind—a white, Greek Revival mansion on sweeping manicured grounds graced with massive oaks.

Chef Folse, a raconteur par excellence and an expert on Louisiana history, will lead the group on a road trip through the Bayous. And don’t worry about getting hungry!  There will be plenty of boudin, biscuits, and Bourbon to keep starvation at bay.

We will overnight Tuesday and Wednesday at Houmas House, the crown jewel of antebellum plantations in Darrow, Louisiana and enjoy a sumptuous seafood feast in the gardens. Thursday there will be more food discoveries and intriguing insights and then it’s on to New Orleans where you’ll be on your own to let the good times roll!

Due to limited space, the invitation only leadership event for food and beverage professionals, will be limited to the first 15 R.S.V.P.s. to this email. We’ve got your back for hotel rooms in Bayou country, local transportation, and meals. Individuals are responsible for their own air fare.

In NOLA’s Backyard

Presented by

Chef John Folse, Ambassador of Louisiana Cuisine

Michaela York, Communications Director, Chef John Folse Co.

Barbara Mathias, principal Flavor Forays and former publisher Food Arts magazine

Beverly Stephen, principal Flavor Forays and former executive editor Food Arts magazine

19th ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP BBQ AND COOKOUT

19th ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP BBQ and COOKOUT

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Galleria Marchetti / 825 West Erie, Chicago

4.00 pm – 7:00 pm*

The Championship BBQ and Cookout is an annual event held on Sunday during the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago that showcases local chefs and brings together restaurant professionals with manufacturers and suppliers.

Is it an industry party?  Yes, but it’s not held in a stuffy ball room. Is it a networking opportunity? You bet. Sponsors have the opportunity to show off their wares to as many as 1,000 industry professionals. Is it all for a good cause? Absolutely. This year the beneficiary is World Central Kitchen, a charity founded by celebrity chef Jos Andrés to eradicate hunger. In the past the event was able to make significant contributions to Share our Strength

Nineteen years ago, Food Arts publisher Barbara Mathias and the magazine’s founder Michael Batterberry wanted to create an event during the restaurant show that would bring our magazine to life and provide an opportunity for our sponsors and our readers to engage in real time.  It has become the “must attend” event for all operators attending the restaurant show. When Food Arts closed, it seemed even more crucial to continue to bring our readers and sponsors together at live events. And so Barbara, as former publisher continues to produce this event. This year the BBQ will be dedicated to our late founder Michael Batterberry. As Michael was instrumental in José Andrés’ career, it is fitting to align with his charity. 

We are partnering with SmartBrief again this year and they will be spreading the word and distributing the invitations. 

 

 

GRITS, GULLAH & THE 3:00 DINNER: MAY 4-6, 2016

Come be charmed by Charleston.*

*UPDATE: Grits, Gullah & the 3:00 Dinner is fully booked! Check back on our blog for future trips being planned by Flavor Forays!

We would like to invite you to join our next Flavor Foray in Charleston and the low country, “Grits, Gullah,and the Three O’Clock Dinner, May 4 to 6 that will take us from bountiful coastal waterways to gracious historic homes. You’ll witness a biscuit throw down between two Southern baking queens, NathalieDupree, author of the Southern Biscuit Cookbook, and Carey Morey, owner of Callie’sCharleston Biscuits; visit the only tea plantation in North America and learn the art of teatasting; explore the lore of the low country. There’ll be no sitting in conference rooms.You’ll meet the characters and the cooks, the farmers and the fisherman who make this storied region one of the most vibrant food cities in the United States today.

BEAUTIFUL CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

This unique experience will include meeting the modern day chefs who have put Charlestonon the restaurant heat map, walking on cobblestone streets past historic pastel mansionstreasured by passionate preservationists, sampling signature shrimp and grits andshe crab soup, benne wafers and brown water (Bourbon). You’ll nibble on house-madepimiento cheese at the quaint Tomato Shed on Wadmalaw Island’s Ambrose Family Farm,which also operates its own shrimp trawler. You’ll be entertained on the piazza and in the drawing room of gracious private homes and be sure to get your fill of local seafood at alow–country boil. And the azaleas should still be in bloom.

Due to limited space, this invitation-only leadership event for food and beverage professionals will be limited to the first 15 RSVPs.  We’ve got your back for hotel rooms, meals, and local transportation.

Grits, Gullah, & the 3:00 Dinner, Presented by

Barbara Mathias, former publisher of Food Arts

Beverly Stephen, former executive editor of Food Arts