Fred Mills and Scott Stephanski
Shanna Higginbotham,Melissa Recatto and Stacy Frederick
Photo by Isabel LaSala
Photo by Isabel LaSala
Ashley Montross and Mary Kennedy
Kim Kringlie (a Culinary Classic judge and owner of Rambla, Cuvee and The Dakota restaurants in New Orleans) and Robin Hebert
Photo by Isabel LaSala
The band GTO
Troy and Amy Lewis and Liane and Grady Abraham
Photo by Isabel LaSala
Photo by Isabel LaSala
Debbey Ryan, Cookie Tuminello, Melissa Recatto, Jill Dugas and Faith Moody
Photo by Isabel LaSala
The Acadiana Culinary Classic celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Cajundome Convention Center April 20, where some of the best chefs in the South got to display their most creative dishes for an elite competition, as well as help raise money for a very worthy cause. For the past several years the Culinary Classic, presented by Popeyes, has benefited Stuller Place, a non-profit organization committed to helping victims of sexual abuse. The event began with a silent auction featuring a vast array of artwork and sports memorabilia and also a Wine Tasting Expo. Nobody wasted much time getting down to eating, though, as lines quickly formed to sample the delights that the talented chefs invented. There were more than 120 different dishes created for the event, and guests tickled their palates with concoctions such as Creole Crawfish Tortilla Soup, Escargot en Croute, Maple Pork, Cranberry Walnut Bread and Raspberry Chambord Terrine. However, there was one dish that surpassed the rest: the stuffed quail dish dubbed “The Last Hunt” ensured that it was another good year for chef Scott Vornadoe of V’s Catering and Events, as he took home the Best in Show prize of $10,000 for the second year in a row. This year’s Culinary Classic proved to be an even bigger financial success than last year, and Party Girl can only hope that next year it will be even bigger and better.
Party On!