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JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION’S TASTE AMERICA® RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS
February 12, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm

JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION’S TASTE AMERICA® RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS
The James Beard Foundation’s Taste America® presented by Capital One® returns to New Orleans on February 12 and 13, 2020, to celebrate America’s culinary diversity with an exciting lineup of celebrity chefs and mixologists. The New Orleans Taste America events will take place at The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans and New Orleans Culinary Hospitality Institute (NOCHI).
What To Expect
On February 12, Local All-Star Chef and James Beard Award winner Nina Compton of Compère Lapin, Visiting All-Star Chef Jamie Malone (Grand Café and Eastside, Minneapolis), and Host Chef Thierry Connault (The Ritz-Carlton) will craft a three-course dinner menu, preceded by a tasting reception and followed by a dessert reception at The Ritz-Carlton.
At NOCHI on February 13, a distinguished group of mixologists and chefs will serve cocktails and light bites at the Taste America New Orleans Raising the Bar Reception. The Gala Dinner evening will begin with a tasting reception featuring small plates from New Orleans’ own award-winning chefs, including Alex Harrell (The Elysian Bar), Nicole Mills (Pêche), Nathan Richard, and Arvinder Vilkhu (Saffron). A lavish three-course dinner crafted by Compton, Malone, and Connault, with bread service by Graison Gill (Bellegarde Bakery), will be followed by a dessert reception. Desserts will be prepared by local pastry chefs Austin Breckenridge (Justine), Ashley McMillan (The Ritz-Carlton), and Maggie Scales (Link Restaurant Group), with Café Brulot by chef Jimi Setchim (Broussard’s). A live and silent auction will be featured throughout the evening.
Alex Harrell, The Elysian Bar – Berbere Spiced Carrots with Carrot-Pecan Romesco and Chermoula
Nicole Mills, Pêche Seafood Grill – Gulf Fish Ceviche with Carrot, Citrus and Chili Oil
Gala Dinner Menu
Raising the Bar will take place in the Cocktail Lab, McIlhenny Hall and rooftop terraces of NOCHI with co-chair Neal Bodenheimer of Cure. Local chefs Christina Balzebre (Levee Baking Co.), Mason Hereford (Turkey and the Wolf) Fredo Nogueira (Cane & Table), Manish Patel (Tava Indian Street Food), and Leighann Smith (Piece of Meat) will serve bites at this casual event starting at 6:00 P.M. Featured mixologists crafting specialty cocktails include Alex Anderson (Cure), Denzel Brown (Thalia), Angela Walters (Windsor Court), Sophie Burton (Bar Politan), and Lisa Nguyen (Elysian Bar).
Tickets to Taste America: New Orleans dinner gala start at $300 per person. VIP tickets and ticket packages are available starting at $500 per person, and include tickets to a VIP reception (6:00 P.M. entry) prior to tasting reception, with preferred dinner seating, plus a photo op and meet and greet with the evening’s chefs, and a special gift. Tickets to Raising the Bar are $75 per person. Tickets to both events may be purchased on the Taste America® website (www.jbftasteamerica,org/