Louisiana Inspired Master Classes
Friday, September 20, 2024 **(total of 4 classes, times & details coming soon)
- Time: 10:30 am – 4:00 pm
- Location: SOWELA Technical Community College – Culinary, Gaming & Hospitality Building,
3841 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Ave Lake Charles, LA 70615
Location: SOWELA Technical Community College – Culinary, Gaming & Hospitality Building,
3841 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Ave Lake Charles, LA 70615
Tickets: $79 per person per class. $59 per person Extra Early Bird.
*Limited tickets available to all Master Classes
Event Type: Indoor – Classroom
Attire & Info: Casual attire, 21 years and over
Interactive and intimate learning experiences with celebrity guest chefs, cookbook authors and beverage experts. Each class includes tasting bites with a paired wine, beer, or signature cocktail.
10:30 – 11:30 am: “Mastering Creole Cooking” with Chef Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, Chapter IV Restaurant, New Orleans, LA
- Location: SOWELA Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Center 3841 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Ave, Lake Charles, LA 70615
Chef Dook will share some of his famous Creole family recipes inspired by his renowned grandmother, Leah Chase, James Beard Foundation award winner and the “Queen of Creole Cuisine”.
Chapter IV is named for Dook being a fourth-generation member of his family, and the restaurant being the fourth restaurant under his operation. Chef Dook trained for a lifetime under his grandmother, but he was also classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. Both the food and the atmosphere at Chapter IV represent a refined ode to the classics; all inspired by a legacy of service and promotion of the arts. Guests will get to sample some of Chef’s specialties, paired with Stella Artois.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: “Fried Shrimp & Grits, with pairings from Jackson Family Wines” with Celebrity Guest Chef Tiffany Derry and Mollie Battenhouse, Master of Wine with Jackson Family Wines
- Location: SOWELA Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Center 3841 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Ave, Lake Charles, LA 70615
Join Chef Tiffany Derry as she demonstrates how to make her famous Fried Shrimp & Grits. Enjoy tasting a flight of four splendid Jackson Family Wines, paired by Mollie Battenhouse, Master of Wine. Experience learning why each bite of this delicious dish will taste a little different with each different wine.
1:30 – 2:30 pm: “Mijenta Tequila with Cajun Favorites” with Oscar Valle, Mijenta Tequila Brand Ambassador/Mixologist, Mexico and famous Cajun specialty food experts, Lake Charles, LA
- Location: SOWELA Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Center 3841 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Ave, Lake Charles, LA 70615
Oscar Valle, Mijenta Tequila Brand Ambassador/Mixologist will guide guests through Mijenta’s varied portfolio of tequilas. At 17 years-old, Oscar began his career in the service industry in New York as a bar back for “Liquid Chef” Junior Merino, the famous mixologist known for creating the concept of the “kitchen-bar” fusion. There, Merino taught him the self-discipline and work ethic necessary to navigate him through some of the city’s biggest events. Currently he choreographs the moves behind Mijenta tequila in México. The award-winning, additive-free, sustainable tequila is distilled exclusively using fully mature Blue Weber agave from the highlands of Jalisco.
Guests will get to sample Oscar’s signature Mijenta cocktail creations along with authentic, locally made Cajun cuisine, ranging from Crawfish & Shrimp Boudin Balls to Homemade Pork Cracklin’s – all expertly paired with Mijenta cocktails!
3:30 – 5:00 pm: “Taste the Flavors of Louisiana” with Reiniel Vicente Diaz, Master Distiller, Bayou Rum Distillery
- Location: Bayou Rum Distillery & Event Center, 20909 Frontage Road, Lacassine, LA 70650
Reiniel Vicente Diaz, Master Distiller of Bayou Rum Distillery will guide the class through a premium tasting of some of Bayou Rum Distillery’s premier brands. The Bayou Rum Distillery tasting will include perfectly paired bites with each exquisite rum and will include a tour of Bayou Rum Distillery.
Reiniel, a second-generation rum maker, was born and raised in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, a city immersed in the art of rum production. Growing up surrounded by sugar cane fields, sugar mills, and a rum distillation facility, Reiniel developed a deep appreciation and understanding of the craft. Following in the footsteps of his father, Omar Vicente, who served as the Master Blender of a prestigious Cuban rum distillery for 15 years, Reiniel’s destiny in the world of rum was set from a young age.
The ingredient central to rum – sugarcane – had been cultivated in the founders of Bayou Rum Distillery’s home state of Louisiana since the 1700’s, but no one had yet harnessed this abundant natural resource to create a top-notch, premium rum. Bayou® Rum Distillery opened its door in Lacassine, LA in 2013, utilizing traditional methods with state-of-the-art technology from fermentation through distillation, maturation and bottling, Bayou Rum has earned its title of #1 Craft Rum in America*. Today, Bayou Rum is available throughout the United States.
