BY DIANA VALLETTE
You get 11 chefs for the price of one this issue. Taste Louisiana hosted an event at Chelsea Market in Manhattan so I jumped on a plane and made my way to New York City for a quick 24 hours. The sacrifices I make for our readers, am I right?
Eleven Louisiana-based chefs served up Cajun meals. Wayne Toups serenaded the room while I gave boudin and king cake crash courses to locals. The goal was to show off our state’s vibrancy, creativity and heritage through our favorite thing: food.
Here’s a little bit about the chefs I met at the event.
Niema DiGrazia was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa and now cooks in Shreveport at Abby Singer’s Bistro. DiGrazia has a big personality and she’s known for blending Afro-fusion flavors with Louisiana bites. DiGrazia competed on the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” (and she did). She makes all of her own seasonings and in New York she served oxtail and greens on a grit cake.
Nadia Burrell is the chef behind Nadie B’s Taste of HomeAh in Houma. (HomeAh, get it?) Burrell served up seafood gumbo at the event. I was standing next to some well-meaning New Yorker who commented on how delicious the ‘risotto’ was. We had a quick little gumbo lesson as Wayne Toups’ “Take My Hand” played in the background. It was a holy experience for me.
I really enjoyed chatting with Kim Kringlie a veteran chef on the Northshore who comes from a food family––his brothers are also chefs. Kringlie served a lump crabmeat and brie soup that was rich, creamy and warmed the New York chill right out of my bones.
Kim Nuzum is executive chef at Café Sydnie Mae. She served seafood maque choux with pepper jelly glazed
shrimp.
Alon Shaya is chef-partner (with his wife) of Pomegranate Hospitality in New Orleans. Shaya’s written several cookbooks including “Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel” which is also part memoir, and he was a judge on season 15 of Top Chef. He served amba pickled shrimp with green chile zhug.
Maggie Scales is a Philadelphia native and executive pastry chef at Link Restaurant group in New Orleans. She served chocolate croissant bread pudding.
Peter Cooke, owner of Park Bistro, was living in Brooklyn until 2022 but now he’s in Lafayette. He’s worked at a restaurant that received a Michelin recommendation and has had his food written about in both The New York Times and The New York Post. He served sautéed shrimp, corn risotto, pickled fresno peppers and chive oil.
Lyle Broussard cooks at our very own Crying Eagle Lakefront. You might remember he was the subject of this column a few issues back, and his offering was my favorite of the night. I’m not just saying that because he’s our guy. It was exceptional, and many people (who I saw grabbing for seconds and thirds) agreed. He served blackened ahi tuna and Louisiana blue crab nachos.
Diana and Brooke Leblanc, Owner of Southern Provisions SWLA in from of “Risotto” Sign
You can find Russell Davis at Eliza Restaurant & Bar in Baton Rouge. Davis is originally from a small lobstering town in Mass., but he moved to Louisiana after college and never left. He served up gulf shrimp remoulade with green tomato and tasso
maque choux.
Our regular readers know I love asking (everyone but especially) chefs what their death row meal is. Willie Gaspard, executive chef of Cypress Bayou Casino, says on his last day he’d like “medium rare ribeye made by me coupled with lyonnaise potatoes, apple pie and a class of Caymus.”
This is exactly my death row meal, too, in case you’re wondering. Gaspard’s been cooking for 30 years. His first job? Jubans in Baton Rouge–another thing he and I agree on. At the Taste Louisiana event he served bacon-wrapped boudin stuffed gulf
shrimp with blackberry pepper jelly.
Chase Raley has been cooking professionally since he was 16-years-old. He served Maple Leaf Farms duck wrapped bacon.
This event wasn’t just about food. It was a full sensory experience that gifted Louisiana to New York. I asked Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser why events like this one are important. “This year, 2025, was the year of food for us in Louisiana. You know, food is a way of life for us. We wake up talking about breakfast and then we go straight to talking about lunch.”
His favorite food? Seafood gumbo. Makes sense for a guy whose father owned a shrimp factory.
Chief Chase Raley with his Maple Leaf Farms Duck Wrapped Bacon
Food is the way Louisiana says “This is who we are.” We tell stories through our food, show people we love them through our food and gather in the name of food. This event wasn’t just a tasting it was an immersive experience highlighting just how lucky we are to live in the boot. It succeeded in its mission: convince everyone they should add Louisiana to their travel bucket list.
When the final plate was cleared and the last accordion note drifted away, one thing was clear: travelling to New York was fun, but only because we brought a slice of Louisiana with us.
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