Since its founding in 1718, the bustling
port city of
New Orleans
has attracted a great variety of European, African, Latin American, and Asian peoples. These various cultures created a local ethnicity, a melting pot of traditions and customs that give the city a richness unlike any other.
The "creolization” of the local cuisine was the union of these cultures, which define the true foodways of New Orleans.

Brennan's
restaurant is proudly honoring these international traditions at its second celebratory event of "The Giving Table" series, on
Friday, June 8, 2018, to benefit the
Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization that
documents, studies, and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the changing American South.
The morning will begin at
Napoleon House,
with a welcome reception at
10:00am,
followed by presentations on the culinary histories of six cultures that have contributed to the cuisine of New Orleans. The five-course lunch will begin with its first dish at Napoleon House, highlighting the Italian influence on the city. Following the talks and book signings, guests will leisurely walk one block to a
luncheon at Brennan's for
1:00pm
where they will enjoy the four remaining courses
artistically crafted by
executive chef Slade Rushing
- each representing
a select flavor, ingredient or technique of one of the highlighted cultures.
The grand finale will be in the courtyard, with an array of fanciful French style desserts. The historic filled half-day of light breakfast reception, refreshments, presenters, and a five-course lunch paired with wines is
$100
per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity.) Menu First | French Frisee au Lardons Smoked Pompano, Poached Egg, Creole Spiced Croutons Second | Italian Crispy Oyster Raviolo Oyster Ragou, Garlic Chili Butter Third | German Housemade Andouillette New Potato Salad, Broad Street Cider Jus Fourth | Irish Corned Lamb Tartine Soda Bread, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Horseradish and Mint Yogurt
Fifth | Vietnamese Vietnamese Coffee Flan, Cinnamon Chantilly Ethnic Influences + Guest PresentersFrench
| Lolis ElieAuthor, Filmmaker, Food Historian,SFA Founder, and Story Writer for HBO's TremeSpanish
| Chris MonteroExecutive Chef of Napoleon HouseAfrican + Haitian
| Jessica HarrisEight-time Book Author on African American Foodways,Professor, SFA FounderItalian
| Justin NystromLoyola University Associate Professor of History andDirector of the Center for the Study of New OrleansGerman
| Dr. Kristen BurtonLoyola University Instructor of History of Alcohol and Intoxication andHistory of Food and Food Cultures, Cultural HistorianIrish
| Dr. Errol LabordeEditor-in-chief of Renaissance PublishingEditor/Publisher of
New Orleans
Magazine and Louisiana Life magazineVietnamese
| Rien FertelReader. Writer. Professor. Louisianian. Author of "The One True Barbecue & Imagining the Creole City"