This past Friday night saw the return of the annual Fete Rouge, a culinary showcase put on by the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society to raise funds for a number of hunger and food scarcity related causes and charities. Fete Rouge, as a celebration of wine and food, is also one of the largest and most prestigious culinary competitions in the city. The Gov’t Taco team took aim, preparing food for Fete Rouge for the very first time in a sea of what seemed to be 1000 hungry and thirsty attendees and over 30 food vendors.
Huey P(ork) Long
The Gov’t Taco crew presented a dish to the judges in the “Louisiana” category, meant to showcase traditional flavor and Louisiana ingredients while adding some modern innovation and creativity. Modeled after a special taco that was one of the favorites from the 1st year of service in White Star Market, Huey Pork Long delivered the flavor! It featured Louisiana Cane Sugar Cured Pork Belly from Iverstine Family Farms, braised greens, cornbread, chile/corn cream, pickled mustard seeds and corn shoots from MicroPharms.
The dish took home 3rd place in the most stacked field of the night, and Majority Whip Therese Albornoz and Hand of the Queen Delainie Riera rushed to the stage to claim their bronze medal. It’s an honor to get called to the stage for Fete Rouge, and especially in Gov’t Taco’s first year of participating in the competition, and being in the most contested category of the night, the crew couldn’t have been more excited!
We’d love to thank the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society for putting on such a great event. Also thanks to all of those who came out to eat and drink for a good cause!
To say that I’m proud of my team is an understatement. This crew worked their butts off for this dish, and it definitely represented well! There’s so much more to come, but for now, we’ll savor this one!
Jay D. Ducote, Founding Father
