Check out our latest e-book
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Eating Louisiana
Culture and cuisine--we sampled it all
What if you could time travel, all in one day, from a pre-Civil War sugar planter’s breakfast, to an authentic Cajun crawfish boil, to trendsetting seafood dishes from talented New Orleans chefs moving a traditional cuisine forward?
That’s exactly what a group of Marriott’s culinary, F&B, and event planning leaders did on our Flavor Foray “On the Bayou” April 20, 2017. No region takes their history and culture as seriously as Louisiana and we got a taste of it all.
The day began with a historical sugar planter’s breakfast on the grounds of White Oak Plantation & Farm, Chef John Folse’s catering facility housed in a majestic white columned mansion. Back in the day, folks went into the fields before the sun came up and then came in mid-day to eat their main meal.
In the early morning sunshine, we could smell bacon cooking every which way on a live fire station. If there’s a heaven, it’s that station full of bacon--Acadian bacon, cane syrup-candied bacon, whole smoked, brown-sugar cured ham, Cajun bacon, boudin, and creole sausages. Pain perdu, grillades and blue corn stone-ground grits, fluffy cathead biscuits, calas cakes, and eggs a la crème completed the feast.
From there, we ventured into the swamp on the Atchafalaya Princess led by Henderson mayor Sherbin Collette on his boat, the Crawfish King. We glided past majestic moss-draped cypress trees through mysterious waters where graceful egrets perch just out of reach of lurking alligators. There are plenty of crawfish in there too.
Just a stone’s throw down the road sits Crawfish Town USA, a restaurant and fresh market housed in an authentic barn from the 1900s. Here in the heart of Cajun country, it’s crawfish season and Chef Dustie Latiolais threw down a traditional crawfish boil on newspaper-covered tables under the trees. His restaurant peels about 10,000 pounds of crawfish every year. No crawfish boil would be complete without some beer and Bayou Teche Brewery obliged.
The past met the future in a grand finale celebrating Louisiana Seafood in Jackson Square’s historic Cabildo, an elegant baroque museum the was the seat of the Spanish colonial government in New Orleans.
Six of the Crescent city’s best chefs showcased the state’s seafood bounty from oysters, to blue crabs, to shrimp, to fin fish, and even gator. And we dined like royalty on their creations in the magnificent halls where Spanish grandees once ruled.
Nathan Richard (Cavan) invented Alligator “Turtle” Soup, that is to say, alligator soup cooked in the style of traditional New Orleans turtle soup. Chris Montero (Napoleon House) used both Gulf shrimp and jumbo lump crabmeat in his refreshing Louisiana Seafood Salad with local heirloom grape tomatoes, confit garlic and baby arugula. Aaron Burgau (Patois) put his own spin on oysters and dumplings with Louisiana Oyster Stew and Gnocchi chock full of fennel and leeks.
Tableau’s John Martin put a twist on traditional Oysters Bienville with his Crawfish Bienville which included shrimp, oysters, ham and bacon and served it on slices of French bread topped with shrimp and oyster mousse and fresh crawfish and finished with blue crab butter sauce. Cody and Samantha Carroll (Sac-a-Lait) gave their deviled crab a contemporary touch of drama with a house made saltine dyed black with squid ink. Carrollton Market’s Jason Goodenough turned to the fin fish category with his Yellowfin Tuna Hot Oil. “The sushi-grade tuna was sliced sashimi-style, dressed with soy and lemon juice and then splashed with screaming hot sesame oil to flash cook the outside of the slices while simultaneously making a vinaigrette on the plate a la minute,” Goodenough explains.
Louisiana is the nation’s second largest producer of seafood generating more than 856 million pounds each year and is the largest commercial fishery in the contiguous United States. No wonder there’s crab piled on top of so many entrees or iconic dishes overflowing with crab, shrimp, and oysters all at once.
Beam Suntory showcased some special libations that have not yet been released to the market including Makers 46 Private Select, Tyrconnell 16-year-old Irish Whiskey, Basil Hayden Rye, and Knob Creek 25th anniversary.
Post Script. It took another half a day to see a couple more things. No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a visit to an oyster house so why not stop in to visit with Sal Sunseri at P&J Oysters. NOLA Brewing Company stopped in too. And then cap the morning off with a Bloody Mary and cracklins (now that’s a pairing!) in the shaded courtyard of Lucullus, the venerable culinary antique store on Chartres Street filled with copper pots and endless other tabletop temptations.
And a vote of thanks to all our generous sponsors: Bigelow, Cardinal, Dannon, Jade, Juicero, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.
Beverly Stephen
For more information, check out our video below.
Flavor Foray on the Bayou
We just finished a custom one and a half day Flavor Foray for Marriott culinary, f&b, and event leaders in the Bayou and New Orleans. Take a look at the flavor packed program here:
Welcome to Flavor Foray on the Bayou
Check out our latest video welcoming guests and sponsors to our latest culinary excursion, Flavor Foray on the Bayou:
19TH ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP BARBECUE & COOKOUT / THANK YOU!
Thank you to all our sponsors and guests who joined for the Barbecue!
Grits, Gullah, & the Three o'Clock Dinner II
We're still talking about our second annual Grits, Gullah, & the Three o'Clock Dinner held in early February! A special thank you to all our guests, sponsors, and our very informative guide - the incomparable Matt Lee - for joining us as we experienced all of the lovely (and delicious) wonders of Charleston.
Beautiful scenery and weather combined with the best of low country food and friendship to make this one of our most memorable trips ever. Where to next? Follow us @flavorforays on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to find out more about upcoming culinary adventures planned for 2017-18.
Our team put together a video of all the fun. Check it out below. And remember:
Stir the Pots. Listen to the stories. This is Flavor Forays.
Here Fishy, Fishy.
During our second annual Grits, Gullah, & the Three o'Clock Dinner, our team of hospitality professionals - chefs, F&B leaders, restaurateurs, and hoteliers - had a chance to stop by Fig in Charleston and talk with Chef Jason Stanhope about sustainable fishing, and just why it has to be delicious for it to work for the environment AND the bottom line.
You can find a quick taste of Fig and the Flavor Forays immersive experience in the video below.
For more on Chef Stanhope, check out Fig, and make sure to visit the next time you're in Charleston!
Follow us: @flavorforays on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Welcome to Charleston!
A welcome to our Second Flavor Forays Annual Grits, Gullah, and the Three o'Clock Dinner in Charleston, held February 6-8, 2017.
20th Annual Championship BBQ & Cookout
The Annual Championship BBQ & Cookout is celebrating its 20th and we want to make it bigger and better than ever. The BBQ will take place on Sunday, May 21, 2017 during the NRA show in Chicago. This year it will be housed in the Chicago Illuminating Company, one of the city’s premier event spaces.
Barbara Mathias, former Food Arts publisher, founded the event two decades ago and is continuing to produce it along with her colleague Beverly Stephen, former executive editor of Food Arts.
Great news! We’re excited to announce a partnership with Food News Media, publisher of FSR and QSR magazines, which will serve as co-host and send out invitations and spread the word. They will also follow up with stories both in print and online to provide much deserved coverage for our amazing chefs.
The Championship BBQ & Cookout is known to food industry insiders as a “must attend” high-powered networking event. You can tell those who ask that each year, the best chefs in Chicago face off over flames to feed up to 1,000 of the industry’s leading chefs and operators. It also attracts many high-quality sponsors integral to the event’s success.
As last year, we’re proud to announce that a portion of the proceeds will benefit World Central Kitchen, an international organization led by chef José Andrés, which uses its network of world-renowned chefs to find sustainable solutions to end world hunger. The BBQ will also benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank which distributes the equivalent of 160,000 meals daily.
Talented people feeding people—what we all do best.
From The Creole
Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board serves flood first responders at The Venue
10/21/2016 BY PETER PASQUA
ST. AMANT – The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board along with visiting chefs from across the country, AmeriCorps and local supporters such as Pontchartrain Blue Crab, Associated Grocers, and Chef John Folse gathered at The Venue last week to serve meals to the first responders who worked the devastating August flood of 2016.
The Venue served as headquarters for first responders following the flood and is currently the home of the St. Amant Fire Department after flood damage to their building.
Guests enjoyed fresh Louisiana seafood, Smithfield Hams, and other specialties prepared by visiting chefs from around the nation in celebration of National Seafood Month and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office provided a mobile cooking unit to assists with serving more than 200 meals.
Among those attending were Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley, Executive Director of Volunteer Ascension Judd Jeansonne and Executive Director of Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board Karen Profita.
The gathering was part of a three-day tour in Louisiana called NOLA’s backyard that included executives from Walt Disney World, The Ritz-Carlton, and others who came to the state to learn about local cuisine. Activities included crabbing on Lake Pontchartrain and processing sugar at local mills.
You can check out the story here: http://www.thecreole.com/?p=65227
Second Annual NOLA's Backyard Flavor Foray
Our second annual NOLA's Backyard Flavor Foray started out with a delicious immersion in the Louisiana seafood industry. Gary Bauer of Ponchatrain Blue Crab took us out on his boat to catch crabs in the Lake, followed up with a tour of his processing plant and ended up with sumptuous buffet of crab every which way including the most spectacular deep fried soft shells. Chef John Folse, arranged two of them standing with claws intertwined for his "angry crab" or "Hallelujah" presentation. Bauer recalled that almost two decades ago he had taken his mother for a birthday dinner to Folse's original restaurant Lafitte's Landing in Donaldsonville and she eagerly devoured them. This story was the inspiration for Folse to repeat this dish for the f&b executives in our group. A local television reporter came along to document the crab story.
You can check out the story, here: http://wgno.com/2016/10/13/got-crabs-from-the-lake-to-your-plate/
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
WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED.
Where to? What's next?
Check back on our blog for information on upcoming culinary adventures from Flavor Forays.
THANK YOU!
Dear Charleston Flavor Foray Friends,
Wouldn’t you like to be sitting down to a three o’clock dinner about now? Digging into some pimiento cheese, stone ground grits, or middlins and okra? Or maybe continuing to seriously deplete the local oyster population?
Thanks so much to all y’all. We hope you had as fantastic a time on our Charleston Flavor Foray as we did. After months of planning, Grits, Gullah and the Three O’Clock Dinner exceeded our expectations, largely due to the wonderful company. Some of us were already friends but we happily met new people who ended up as friends after our culinary adventures. The progression from a business relationship to one of friendship was the best possible outcome of our shared experience that included colorful characters, historical perspective, and chefs moving a traditional cuisine forward. History and tradition came to life in the biscuit throw down, the cobblestone streets and pastel mansions, the downhome Tomato Shed, and BJ’s delicious dockside Gullah lesson. And who will forget Bigelow’s eye-opening tea tasting on the only tea plantation in North America?
Our prolific photographer Nanette Bedway was busy capturing the entire foray in pictures which will make their way to you in a lovely scrapbook. You will also be able to see many of her photos posted on FlavorForays.com. We hope each time you tie your Grits, Gullah and the Three O’Clock Dinner apron it will bring back fond memories of our time together in charming Charleston. You were all part of what we intend to be many trips to culinary meccas meeting the characters and the cooks, the farmers and the fishermen who bring a cuisine and a culture to life.
We would love to hear from you about what you found particularly enjoyable or educational. You can also tell us if there are things you didn’t like or think we should avoid in the future. Don’t be shy. But if there’s anything you don’t want to put in writing, we’re only a phone call away if you want to whisper something in our ears, bless your hearts.
We hope all y’all will be with us on future Flavor Forays. Let us continue to make memories together.
Barbara and Beverly
P.S. Please keep in mind if you’re buying tea, there’s only one name, Bigelow. If you’re buying ranges, Jade. If you’re buying ovens, Beech. If you’re buying china and glassware, Cardinal. If you’re buying yummy amenities, Torn Ranch.
CHEFS' COLLABORATIVE SUMMIT
I was fortunate to be able to cover the Chefs' Collaborative Summit 16 in New York City where José Andrés gave a rousing speech to a standing room only crowd. We're so proud that the 19th annual Championship BBQ and Cookout is benefitting his charity World Central Kitchen. –Beverly Stephen
You can read more here: http://www.foodshedexchange.com/chefs-collaborating/
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
Come be charmed by Charleston*
*UPDATE: This event is closed and no longer accepting RSVP's. Please check back on the Flavor Forays blog for important updates on future trips and special events.
Be sure to check-out the book documenting this trip at the end of this post!
Our next Flavor Foray, called Grits, Gullah and the Three O’clock Dinner, takes place in the low country of Charleston, South Carolina, spanning from bountiful coastal waterways to gracious historic homes. Participants are promised: a biscuit throw down between the two Southern baking queens Nathalie Dupree, author of the Southern Biscuit Cookbook, and Carey Morey, owner of Callie’s Charleston Biscuits; a visit to the only tea plantation in North America and a lesson in the art of tea tasting; and an exploration of the lore of the low country. As always, there will be no sitting in conference rooms. The group meets 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.
“Grits, Gullah,and the Three O’Clock Dinner", to be held May 4 to 6, includes a series of events that will take us from bountiful coastal waterways to gracious historic homes.* You’ll witness a biscuit throw down between two Southern baking queens, Nathalie Dupree, author of the Southern Biscuit Cookbook, and Carey Morey, owner of Callie’s Charleston Biscuits; visit the only tea plantation in North America and learn the art of tea tasting; 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.
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 mansions treasured by passionate preservationists, sampling signature shrimp and grits and she crab soup, benne wafers and brown water (Bourbon). You’ll nibble on house-made pimiento 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 a low–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 RSVP's. We’ve got your back for hotel rooms, meals, and local transportation.
Presented by Barbara Mathias, former publisher of Food Arts & Beverly Stephen, former executive editor of Food Arts
*Invitation was sent in the winter of 2015. This trip is completely booked.