2014 Bite of the Arts Gala by The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute

THIBODAUX — The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University will honor the 10th anniversary of the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance with a French-themed celebration during its 18th annual Bite of the Arts Gala Thursday, Nov. 13.

The celebrated culinary event, themed “Beaucoup de Bocuse,” will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Cotillion Ballroom at the Bollinger Memorial Student Union with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction. A three-course meal and a live auction will follow.

The Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance, founded by the celebrated French chef, unites 14 universities from across the world in the pursuit of top-notch culinary education. Nicholls’ Chef John Folse Culinary Institute is the only school in the United States involved in this partnership, and sends its top students to an intensive four-month training at the Institut Paul Bocuse in Ecully, France each year.

Guests will be treated to a multi-course French dinner prepared by distinguished visiting chef Peter Sclafani. A third-generation chef from New Orleans, Sclafani is co-owner and executive chef of Ruffino’s, the premier Italian-Creole fusion restaurant in Baton Rouge, and its sister restaurant in Lafayette, Ruffino’s on the River. The meal will be prepared and served with the skills and talent of about 300 Nicholls student culinarians.

The Bite of the Arts Gala also features the presentation of the culinary institute’s 2014 Lafcadio Hearn Award for significant contributions to the culinary profession. This year’s event will honor entrepreneur Thomas J. “T.J.” Moran, a legendary Baton Rouge restaurateur who opened the first Ruth’s Chris Steak House franchise in 1976 and went on to become the largest and most successful of the company’s franchisees, developing restaurants across the Southeast and Midwest. Over the years, he has used his popular culinary venues to support charitable organizations that benefit thousands of Baton Rouge residents.

Individual tickets are $150 per person. Benefactor tables for eight are $2,500, and corporate tables for 10 are $5,000. All proceeds benefit the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.

Call 985-449-7091 to reserve your tickets.

Download the 2014 Bite of the Arts Menu

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Join Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie, Chef Matt Murphy and Fr. Kyle Sanders on a Food Meets Faith Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

There is still room on my next pilgrimage to the Holy Land! The pilgrimage will be from February 26 to March 8, 2015. Chef Matt Murphy, owner and operator of The Irish House in New Orleans and winner of Food Network’s Chopped in 2012 will accompany me, and Fr. Kyle Sanders, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, will travel as the Spiritual Director.

I want to invite you to grow in faith together with me around the table of the Eucharist and around the dinner table in the Holy Land.

See full itinerary HERE. You can also download it.