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Bayou Block Party

Presented by Louisiana Culinary Trails + Texas Monthly

The Bayou State is coming to the Bayou City for an exclusive evening of culinary delights.

Louisiana Culinary Trails has invited twelve chefs from across Louisiana to share the taste of Cajun, Creole, and Gulf Coast cuisine—right in our own backyard. Join us for happy hour drinks and bites on a French Quarter-inspired garden patio in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston. Featured chefs hail from:

  • Lake Charles (ft. chefs Lyle Broussard & Amanda Cusey)
  • Shreveport-Bossier (ft. chefs Hardette Harris & Blake Jackson)
  • Lafayette (ft. chefs Robert Autin & Kelsey Leger)
  • St. Tammany (ft. chefs Jeremy Reilly & Robert Vasquez)
  • Baton Rouge (ft. chefs Jay Ducote & Jim Urdiales)
  • New Orleans (ft. chef Megan Bickford)
  • Monroe-West Monroe (ft. chef Cory Bahr)

Come experience Louisiana’s famed Culinary Trails and let the good times roll!

By invitation only. RSVPs are closed at this time.

Have questions? Email for more information.

 

Featured Chefs

Lafayette

Robert Autin

Robert Louis Autin, MD, is known as the surgeon butcher. He is a general and bariatric surgeon as well as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His love of fire, cooking, and butchery was allowed to grow when The Acadian Superette in Lafayette, LA, was up for sale. Robert has kept many traditional elements and menu items, but is in charge of all meats and sauces.

Monroe-West Monroe

Cory Bahr

Cory Bahr is the Owner & Founder of Parish Restaurant, Standard Coffee Co. and Heritage Catering in Monroe, Louisiana, where he was born and raised. Parish, an homage to what is most important to Cory—community, culture, and culinary heritage—presents an inventive take on classic Southern dishes utilizing live fire cooking that makes use of all the flavors, technique and heritage of his beloved Delta region.

New Orleans

Megan Bickford

Chef Megan “Meg” Bickford has called the Commander’s Palace kitchen her culinary home since June 2008 and took on the role of Executive Chef at the New Orleanians’ destination for leading edge Haute Creole cuisine in October 2020. Chef Meg is a mother to 4-year old Stella and on her days off can be found with Stella and husband Richard in Cut Off, Louisiana.

Lake Charles

Lyle Broussard

As chef at L’auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles, Chef Lyle Broussard is legendary for his Cajun and creole flavors and his passion for Southwest Louisiana culture and cuisine, dating back to time spent perched next to his grandmother’s stovetop where he developed a passion for food.

Lake Charles

Amanda Cusey

Amanda Cusey discovered her love for food while growing up in the Southwest United States. Executive Chef at Lake Charles’ The Villa Harlequin for the past 5 years, she received her Cordon Blue certification in England. She cemented her love for Italian cuisine while working at Fiorentina in Dublin where she eventually become Head Chef. Chef Amanda enjoys bringing her twist on Italian cuisine to downtown Lake Charles.

Baton Rouge

Jay Ducote

In 2009, Jay Ducote entered the food world through his food blog, Bite & Booze. He soon introduced The Bite and Booze Radio Show on Talk 107.3 FM, which won state and national awards. In May 2018 Jay launched his first restaurant concept, Jay opened his first restaurant, Gov’t Taco, in 2018 in Baton Rouge. The Jay Ducote Hospitality Group appeared on the LSU 100 list as one of the fastest growing companies led by an LSU alumnus three years in a row

Shreveport-Bossier

Hardette Harris

Chef Hardette Harris is from Minden, Louisiana and is the owner of The Us Up North Kitchen in Shreveport, Louisiana. As a 2000 graduate of the Art Institute of Houston, she worked as a private chef in Houston and San Antonio until 2013. She is now back in her native Louisiana, currently making time to satisfy two cookbook deals from major publishing houses.

Shreveport-Bossier

Blake Jackson

Blake was born and raised in Shreveport, where he opened Whisk Dessert Bar in 2017. After several years working for the US Senate, Blake made his way back to the kitchen. Melding traditional local & southern recipes with worldly techniques and flavors has become the focus of his career. Blake and his wife, Hailey, have two children, Ada James and Emilie.

Lafayette

Kelsey Leger

Chef Kelsey Leger trained in Lafayette, New Orleans, and New York to gain knowledge in slow food movements having to do with seasonal dining. She is versed in a range of specialties including the southern U.S. diet, world cuisine, medicinal foodways, and raw/vegan fare.

St. Tammany

Jeremy Reilly

Chef Jeremy Reilly runs a “true scratch” kitchen at Restaurant Côté, in Slidell, LA. All ingredients are sourced from within sixty miles of the restaurant, and there are no microwaves or freezers in his kitchen. Some ingredients are found steps away from the kitchen in Reilly’s garden out back. When he’s not at the restaurant or has a day off, Jeremy loves spending time with his family.

Baton Rouge

Jim Urdiales

James Urdiales has been the creative chef/owner of Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Restaurant in Baton Rouge for the past twenty- two years. James is a third generation restaurateur that was born and raised in Baton Rouge. Mestizo is a Spanish word that means “of mixed blood” and is used to describe the cuisine of his heritage of Mexican and Louisiana-French.

St. Tammany

Robert Vasquez

Chef Robert Vasquez first fell in love with ingredients and recipe development in his mother’s kitchen. She was his first culinary instructor when he began his career as a dishwasher in his family’s restaurant. Today, Chef Vasquez draws on his vast restaurant, catering, and retail experience to bring a fresh culinary experience to the Louisiana Northshore at Forks and Corks in Covington, LA

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