FoodFest: America’s Hometown Eats Scheduled for March 22-24

For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Jeffrey Ory, ABC, APR
(504) 458-5866
jeffrey@jeffreyory.com

Cooks from all over the country will migrate to New Orleans to serve their regional specialties throughout the French Market. From Yankee chowder to Tucson tamales and Memphis barbecue to genuine mint juleps, everything is a great American classic, cooked and served by the culinary artists who know how to make it right.

SCHEDULE: OF EVENTS: 

Friday, March 22: America's Hometown Sweets Opening Night
Café Reconcile: 1631 Oretha C Haley Boulevard
8 - 10 p.m. $50 per person
In the adventuresome spirit of the weekend's FoodFest, it will bring the best sweets from all over the country to New Orleans (and, of course, include local greats,too!), giving guests an unprecedented opportunity to sample, compare, and contrast regional taste in all those things that ring the chimes of a sweet tooth. Included among the goodies will be the city's best pralines and bread pudding, four-star toffee from Colorado, chocolate potato chips from South Dakota, the ultimate turtles from Massachusetts, coffee-cake kringle from Wisconsin, Mexican wedding cookies from Albuquerque, and pies from north, south, east and west. The (non-edible) highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Roadfood Blue Plate Award to a chef who has made a unique contribution to America's regional food.

Saturday, March 23: The Louisiana Crawfish Boil
Bayou Barn: 7145 Barataria Blvd., Crown Point
Complimentary transportation provided from the Bienville House in the French Quarter
6:30 - 10 p.m. $75 per person
An intimate, ticketed event for 200 people, the Crawfish boil will be a traditional fais-do-do just outside the city in the Cajun countryside. It will feature endless crawfish (at the peak of their season), a whole-hog cochon de lait barbecue, and live music for dancing and for joining in with washboard and spoon and tambourines.

Saturday, March 23 & Sunday, March 24: FoodFest Street Festival
French Market: 1008 North Peters Street
Saturday: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Free for all
Sample over 50 America's hometown eats from around the country. Four blocks in the French Market will be lined with dozens of America's best hometown eats from all across America, each offering a unique specialty. This is NOT typical and expected festival fare: it is a taste of America's most celebrated dishes, all gathered in one place: a foodie's dream. Portions are right-sized and priced to provide everyone a chance to taste the maximum number of great regional eats as they stroll through the French Market inhaling delicious smells that range from real Texas pit barbecue to Pecan Pie to artisan boudin sausage made by Cajun country's most beloved butchers. There is no admission fee; just bring plenty of appetite.

Sunday, March 24: Beignet Eating Contest
French Market: 1008 North Peters Street
1 - 1:30 p.m. Free for all
Who will be crowned the World's Beignet Eating Champion? The ultimate French Quarter eating competition! The New Orleans Fire Department will field a team of its top eaters to determine which of them can eat the most beignets in the least amount of time. Whereas normal eaters consume the city's beloved silky fritters in lots of two or three along with cafe au lait, in this fast-paced contest, the men in uniform devour them by the dozen, and the powdered sugar flies! The winning team takes home the World Champion Beignet Eating Belt. And this year, for the first time, the contest will feature an open competition for all who have the appetite and courage to compete in the Beignet Big League.

INFORMATION:

For more information, visit www.nolafoodfest.com or call (504) 888-7608.

Food Fest began five years ago as the New Orleans Roadfood Festival, spun out of the website Roadfood.com, which was founded in 2000 by Stephen Rushmore and Jane and Michael Stern. Roadfood.com, which has inspired countless other media to follow its path to the nation's edible treasures, remains the premier internet source for discovering authentic regional American food.