Party Girl

Party Girl 05.26.10

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Written by Party Girl

There is no better way to spend a dreary and cloudy Monday afternoon than enjoying delicious fare from Acadiana's best culinary experts. This year's 26th annual Acadiana Culinary Classic, the biggest culinary competition on the Gulf Coast, was once again held in the Cajundome Convention Center and benefited Hearts of Hope, a sexual abuse response and support center. After cocktail hour in the lobby, guests entered the main room where they got to sample numerous dishes in the soup, salad, bread, vegetable, poultry, meat and veal, wild game and pork and lamb, finfish, shellfish and dessert categories. While everything presented was absolutely delicious, the winner of Best of Show was Jude Tauzin of Village Café (co-owned by Ind Publishers Steve and Cherry Fisher May), who won with his Chocolate Torchon dessert, which consisted of mocha cream, hazelnut powder, cocoa bib brittle, chocolate and white chocolate. Along with Popeyes' Angie Doyle and IberiaBank's Pat Trahan, special guest and acclaimed New Orleans chef John Besh presented Tauzin with the Best of Show medal, trophy and $10,000 grand prize. (Party Girl is still searching for the local chef who ran off with the Chocolate Torchon display dessert, which, thankfully for him, was edible.)

Jessica Foreman and Casey Cormier

Rachel Leckelt and Allison Cormier

Cory Moss, Chef John Besh and Sarah Moss

Eddie J. Lewis III, Dale E. Miniex and Charles Banks

Liane Abraham, Amy Lewis and Jackie White

Charlie and Liz Baudoin

Sean Ezell and Frank Camalo

Velma Gros, June Pellerin, Jennifer Whitmore and Vince Bratford

Photo by Robby Bishop
            Tauzin's Chocolate Torchon

Photo by Robby Bishop
  Chef John Besh and Elizabeth and Jude Tauzin

Photo by Robby Bishop
   Chefs Jude Tauzin and Kyel Robinson

Photo by Robby Bishop
Tsunami Sushi chef Leon Khameson, winner of Gold
in the vegetable category, with John Blair of Bruce
Foods, right, and Brian Berry of Sodexho at UL,
who won Gold in soups