Wine, dine and do it all over again at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel this Friday, Aug. 25, for the 16th Annual Fête Rouge hosted by the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society. This tasty event features samples from local chefs, caterers and restaurants along with the opportunity to sip on an extensive wine selection to determine the best flavors and pours.
Fête Rouge is a tasting competition that benefits the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society. Local chefs make dishes to compete in one of the four food categories: seafood, meat, dessert and Louisiana flair. Gold, silver and bronze awards are given in each category, and there is also a Best in Show Award for a unique, stand-out dish. After attendees get a good sampling of the 200 wine choices, they can place an order to receive their favorites at a later date.
The event will also celebrate the Saurage Family, who own Community Coffee. The Saurages recently received the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society Grace “Mama” Marino Lifetime Achievement Award. The award celebrates a family or person who has dedicated their work to philanthropy and culinary expansion.
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Stephen Hightower of City Hospitality Group serves as this year’s Fête Rouge board president. He says he’s excited for this year’s event, which he expects it to sell out like it has is the past.
“Fête is French for festival, and it’s an upscale festival where you get to be at a great venue like L’Auberge and capture all of what they have to offer,” he says. “But, at the end of the day, it truly is a festival and celebration of Baton Rouge’s best food and wines.”
The current roster includes about 22 local eateries and over 200 wines to sample and enjoy as the night goes on. Competing businesses include Ruffino’s, Spoke and Hub, City Pork, Solera, LSU Dining, Chow Yum Phat, So Board and many more. Participants will be set up with tables all around L’Auberge’s Event Center. There will also be a lounge area for mingling and music from DJ Chris “Bird” Culotta.
“One of those things I’ve always been fascinated by is that we’ve got fast-casual folks to caterers to some of the more fine dining restaurants in Baton Rouge,” Hightower says. “I think that’s the beauty of food. There’s a place for everyone.”
Participating chefs and wine distributors are called to display their best work to make it a one-of-a-kind food and wine event in Baton Rouge. Each year, the event gathers up hundreds of attendees who come to sample dozens of unique food and wine pairings all in one place.
“It’s something that I really believe the chefs look forward to and the wine companies look forward to every year because they have a platform of basically 800 to 1,000 people that are going to be there,” Hightower says. “ They really have the opportunity to showcase what they’re doing.”
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Besides enjoying some of the best food and drink Baton Rouge has to offer, Hightower points out that attendees will be greatly helping the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society and its mission to raise funds for childhood nutrition initiatives along with education and scholarships. Hightower says the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society donates to multiple operations that help children, like the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health, local schools and more.
“We’ve donated over $200,000 just last year to childhood health education and nutritional programs around the city and all of our funds stay here,” he says. “We will surpass $1 million total distributed after this year.”
You can still purchase tickets to enjoy tasty dishes and wines while helping a good cause, but act fast, as this event usually sells out. Fête Rouge will be from 7-10 p.m. at L’Auberge. L’Auberge is at 777 L’Auberge Ave. For more information about the event and the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society, check out the organization’s website.