2026 Food Fête
520 Royal Street
$35 per person
Includes gumbo tasting and open bar
Taste Louisiana History
Join us for the official tasting event of HNOC’s 2026 Food Forum: Gumbo! Hosted at 520 Royal Street and featuring an open bar, this is your chance to sample Creole and Cajun gumbos featuring seafood, chicken and sausage, and vegetarian options, served alongside classic sides. Admission to the Food Fête and Food Forum require separate tickets.
After the 2026 Food Forum concludes, join us for a festive Food Fête, where guests can continue the conversation while tasting a variety of local gumbos and an open bar including white wine, champagne, and a signature cocktail. Bringing people together around the table, the Food Fête offers a flavorful celebration of the ingredients, traditions, and shared stories that makes gumbo Louisiana’s most iconic dish.
Featured vendors include Mr. B’s, Napoleon House, Li'l Dizzy’s, and Magic Seasoning Blends, serving the late Chef Paul Prudhomme’s famous gumbo. Check out the list of participating restaurants, chefs, and bartenders below!
Signature Cocktail: “Gombo Clair”
By mixologist J’Nai Angelle Williams
Ingredients: Andouille fat-washed vodka, a Trinity tincture of celery, onion, and bell pepper, clarified gumbo consommé, touch of demerara sugar
This signature cocktail takes its name from Central Africa. Enslaved Bantu-speaking people brought okra to Louisiana, along with their word for it: ki ngombo. In Kikongo, gombo also describes the thick, binding quality of a stew, which holds the pot together. Gombo Clair, or “clear gumbo,” removes that thickness but keeps the soul. Familiar ingredients come together in a drink that honors the African roots of Louisiana’s signature dish and the community it has fed.
Cooking for the Culture Book Signing at the Shop
While enjoying the festivities, purchase a signed copy of Cooking for the Culture: Recipes and Stories from the Streets of New Orleans to the Table, by Chef Toya Boudy. The live book signing with Chef Boudy will take place from 5:30 to 6 p.m. at the Shop at the Collection.
Earlier that afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at the Food Forum, Chef Boudy will present the session “Gumbo: Tools, Traditions, and the Stories We Carry.” Don’t miss it!
Participating Vendors & Bartenders
Mixologist J’Nai Angelle Williams
A proud New Orleans native and LSU graduate, J’Nai Angelle Williams brings over a decade of bartending expertise across diverse settings, from dive bars to fine dining to brand activations and pop-up shifts. She has competed in notable industry events including NOLA Bourbon Fest Bourbon Brawl, Espolon Cocktail Fights, and Speed Rack. Her “Seafood on a Saturday” cocktail was featured at Essence Festival and in the cocktail anthology A Quick Drink. In 2026, Williams was recognized as one of the top four bartenders in the country as part of Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards.
Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends
The late chef Paul Prudhomme once said, “There must be as many kinds of gumbo as there are families in south Louisiana! Maybe more, because each one has its own recipe.” Elegant and just a little fancy, Magic Seasoning Blends will bring one of Prudhomme’s favorite meals to our Fête table: his chicken and andouille smoked sausage gumbo.
Chef Dee Lavigne
Chef Dwynesha “Dee” Lavigne has built her career on honoring tradition while creating space for new generations to experience New Orleans culture through food. A Ninth Ward native, she grew up in a large family where the kitchen was the center of activity. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Chef Dee returned to New Orleans to begin her professional journey. As Assistant Production Producer at WWL-TV, Chef Dee works with Kit Wohl and Elizabeth Williams of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum to produce the station’s Sunday morning food segment. She is the CEO and owner of Deelightful Roux School of Cooking.
Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop
Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop is tucked away in a tiny strip mall on Causeway Blvd. At his cozy spot, you’ll find some of Louisiana’s finest comfort foods. Chef Ron Iafrate only uses locally sourced ingredients in his award-winning dishes. Chef Ron will be bringing us a Grémilles Gumbo, which is a traditional, dark-roux turkey gumbo made from the flavorful pieces, drippings and remnants of a roasted bird. The Louisiana-French word grémilles refers to small bits, crumbs or scraps of food—a category that also includes cracklings—reflecting Louisiana’s tradition of wasting nothing.
Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
Through the vision of Chef Leah Chase, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant—which began as a barroom and sandwich shop—grew into a sit-down restaurant wrapped within the cultural environment of African American art and Creole cooking. The restaurant will offer a special treat normally only served on Holy Thursday: Leah Chase’s Gumbo Z’herbe, made with nine types of greens and a rich mix of proteins.
Empanola
Empanola is a proud family-owned business dedicated to sharing its cultural heritage through delicious empanadas. Empanola will highligh the how gumbo transcends culture with Chicken and Andouille Gumbo empanadas.
Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe
Wayne Baquet Sr. opened Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe in 2005 on the corner of Esplanade Avenue and North Robertson Street, not too far from where the Chicken Coop once stood—the restaurant where his father Eddie Baquet got his start. Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe is currently owned and operated by Wayne Baquet Jr. and his wife Arkesha. They will be serving their signature gumbo filled with ham, shrimp, house-made sausage, rice, and potato salad.
Mr. B’s Bistro
Mr. B’s Bistro is one of the brightest stars in the New Orleans restaurant scene, nestled in the heart of the French Quarter at the corner of Royal and Iberville Streets. Cindy Brennan and her famous restaurant family opened Mr. B’s in 1979, and it has become a true fixture of the Quarter ever since, famous for deftly cooked regional specialties in a casual setting. Mr. B’s will showcase one of their signature dishes, Gumbo Ya Ya, a spicy chicken and andouille gumbo with a rich, dark roux.
Napoleon House
The century-old Napoleon House is a French Quarter icon, exuding the patina, charm, and authenticity of living history. Ralph Brennan, whose family is a longstanding institution in New Orleans hospitality, accepted stewardship of Napoleon House from the Impastato family in 2015 and has provided guests with the restaurant’s famous warm welcome ever since. Attendees will enjoy Napoleon House's signature chicken and andouille gumbo and seafood gumbo.
Support
The 2026 Food Forum is presented by Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends.
Related Stories
Serving History
HNOC’s diverse archive shows how restaurants preserve history and heritage through their menus.
Related Collection Highlights
New Orleans Corner Store Menus
Ephemera from the HNOC Restaurant Menu Collection highlights the historic role of corner stores in New Orleans history.
Antoine’s Restaurant Collection
It’s the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States, and its archive at HNOC tells the story of a family business and its place in New Orleans history.
Related Books
Related Shop Items
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
