The inaugural Louisiana Food & Wine Festival will take place in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This four-day, ticketed event will highlight the area's Cajun/Creole cuisine and fresh gulf seafood from prepared by a wide selection of chefs, as well as hundreds of beer, wine, and spirit tastings. This is your opportunity to take in Lake Charles' exclusive, luxury food scene while experiencing interactive, scenic, and unique dining experiences. You can indulge in good food and fine wine for one day or four days straight.

Schedule of Events:

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Louisiana's Celebrity Chefs Wine Dinner
Time: 6:00 pm Cocktail Reception, 7:00 pm Dinner

A gourmet food lover’s experience with a six-course dinner, featuring a host of Louisiana’s most celebrated chefs. Many guest chefs will include James Beard Foundation award-winning and nominated chefs will prepare a memorable feast, each chef’s course expertly paired with the perfect wine. A once in a lifetime dining experience, with very limited ticket availability.

Tickets: $225 per person

Attire & Info: Cocktail attire/Business, 21 years and over.

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Friday, September 15, 2023

Louisiana Inspired Master Classes

Location: SOWELA Technical Community College – Culinary, Gaming & Hospitality Building,
3841 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Ave Lake Charles, LA 70615

Tickets: $65 per person per class

10:30 – 11:30 am: “Mastering Creole Cooking” with Chef Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, Chapter IV Restaurant, New Orleans, LA

Chef Dook will share some of his famous Creole family recipes inspired by his renowned grandmother, Leah Chase, James Beard Foundation award winner and the “Queen of Creole Cuisine”.

Chapter IV is named for Dook being a fourth-generation member of his family, and the restaurant being the fourth restaurant under his operation. Chef Dook trained for a lifetime under his grandmother, but he was also classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. Both the food and the atmosphere at Chapter IV represent a refined ode to the classics; all inspired by a legacy of service and promotion of the arts. Guests will get to sample some of Chef’s specialties, paired with the perfect wines.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Mollie Battenhouse, Master of Wine with Jackson Family Wines, Master of Education

1:30 – 2:30 pm: “Mijenta Tequila with Cajun Favorites” with Oscar Valle, Mijenta Tequila Brand Ambassador/Mixologist, Mexico and famous Cajun specialty food experts, Lake Charles, LA

Oscar Valle, Mijenta Tequila Brand Ambassador/Mixologist will guide guests through Mijenta’s varied portfolio of tequilas. At 17 years-old, Oscar began his career in the service industry in New York as a bar back for “Liquid Chef” Junior Merino, the famous mixologist known for creating the concept of the “kitchen-bar” fusion. There, Merino taught him the self-discipline and work ethic necessary to navigate him through some of the city’s biggest events. Currently he choreographs the moves behind Mijenta tequila in México. The award-winning, additive-free, sustainable tequila is distilled exclusively using fully mature Blue Weber agave from the highlands of Jalisco.

Guests will get to sample Oscar’s signature Mijenta cocktail creations along with authentic, locally made Cajun cuisine, ranging from Crawfish & Shrimp Boudin Balls to Homemade Pork Cracklin’s – all expertly paired with Mijenta cocktails!

3:30 – 5:00 pm: “Taste the Flavors of Louisiana” with Reiniel Vicente Diaz, Master Distiller, Bayou Rum Distillery

Reiniel Vicente Diaz, Master Distiller of Bayou Rum Distillery will guide the class through a premium tasting of some of Bayou Rum Distillery’s premier brands. The Bayou Rum Distillery tasting will include perfectly paired bites with each exquisite rum and will include a tour of Bayou Rum Distillery.

Reiniel, a second-generation rum maker, was born and raised in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, a city immersed in the art of rum production. Growing up surrounded by sugar cane fields, sugar mills, and a rum distillation facility, Reiniel developed a deep appreciation and understanding of the craft. Following in the footsteps of his father, Omar Vicente, who served as the Master Blender of a prestigious Cuban rum distillery for 15 years, Reiniel’s destiny in the world of rum was set from a young age.

The ingredient central to rum – sugarcane – had been cultivated in the founders of Bayou Rum Distillery’s home state of Louisiana since the 1700’s, but no one had yet harnessed this abundant natural resource to create a top-notch, premium rum. Bayou® Rum Distillery opened its door in Lacassine, LA in 2013, utilizing traditional methods with state-of-the-art technology from fermentation through distillation, maturation and bottling, Bayou Rum has earned its title of #1 Craft Rum in America*. Today, Bayou Rum is available throughout the United States.

Fire on the Lake

Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Location: Bord du Lac Park, Bord du Lac Dr., Lake Charles, 70601

Tickets: $99 per person

Event Type: Outdoor/Rain or Shine

Attire & Info: Casual, 21 years and over!

This grilling and BBQ Extravaganza is a showcase of the south’s most celebrated chefs, Pitmasters and grill masters with live music and wine, beer and spirits along Lake Charles. Enjoy unlimited food and beverage tastings with a souvenir glass. A variety of culinary creations will be available, from the freshest Louisiana Seafood options to select meats – along with vegetarian options. Delicious grilled, roasted and smoked gourmet tasting bites will be showcased, including options for all palates.

Paragon Casino Resort Music Stage
Featuring Live Music From Horace Trahan & the Ossun Express

Indulge in Ruston-Lincoln Parish, a thriving college town with a culinary scene that delivers a mix of fresh, bold flavors. Delight in a local culinary adventure, from Cajun and Middle-Eastern to slow-smoked BBQ and Southern classics. While you’re here, immerse yourself in interactive attractions, rich public art, local museums, outdoor adventures, and our charming downtown district. Savor the unexpected in Louisiana’s College Town.

“Taste of Louisiana Alley”
presented by, Explore Louisiana and Louisiana Seafood

In Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou, just 35 miles south of New Orleans, is an authentic Cajun lifestyle unlike any other. This unapologetic culture of Lafourche Parish is all up and down the Bayou, and is filled with outdoor experiences like fishing and swamp tours, Cajun food and music, and festival celebrations. Our Cajun runs just a little bit deeper than the rest of the state, and it shows up at every bend in the Bayou.

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Louisiana Food & Wine Festival, Grand Tasting

Time: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: Bord du Lac Park, Bord du Lac Dr., Lake Charles, 70601

Tickets: $139 per person

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A fun afternoon of culinary and beverage tastings, with live music in the beautiful surroundings of Lake Charles, along the Bord du Lac. Tickets are all-inclusive for food and beverage tastings, including a souvenir glass for unlimited beverage tastings from hundreds of wines, beer and spirits exhibitors and samplings from some of Louisiana’s best chefs.

Enjoy food and beverage artisan booths, live music, cooking demonstration stages and the Best Taste Awards, Presented by Acadiana Profile Magazine and Louisiana Seafood!

“Taste of Louisiana Alley”
presented by, Explore Louisiana and Louisiana Seafood

In Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou, just 35 miles south of New Orleans, is an authentic Cajun lifestyle unlike any other. This unapologetic culture of Lafourche Parish is all up and down the Bayou, and is filled with outdoor experiences like fishing and swamp tours, Cajun food and music, and festival celebrations. Our Cajun runs just a little bit deeper than the rest of the state, and it shows up at every bend in the Bayou.

Visit The Northshore where flavors boldly mingle and life is oh, so good.

Louisiana’s Easy Escape is a relaxed and refreshing destination. It’s a place that gives much and takes little. One perfectly made for weekends spent together.

The Northshore delivers world-class culinary flavors, thriving downtowns, aspirational adventures and plenty of outdoor recreation to enjoy. Visit The Northshore and find yourself in a place that is easy to discover and hard to leave.

Indulge in Ruston-Lincoln Parish, a thriving college town with a culinary scene that delivers a mix of fresh, bold flavors. Delight in a local culinary adventure, from Cajun and Middle-Eastern to slow-smoked BBQ and Southern classics. While you’re here, immerse yourself in interactive attractions, rich public art, local museums, outdoor adventures, and our charming downtown district. Savor the unexpected in Louisiana’s College Town.

Paragon Casino Resort Music Stage, 2:00 – 5:00 pm

Louisiana’s Best Party Band
Widely hailed as Louisiana’s best party band, Flamethrowers pride themselves on thinking outside of the cover band box. They pack dance floors at wedding receptions, fundraisers, Mardi gras balls, private & corporate events, and clubs across the Gulf Coast with their deep catalog of hits – old and new, remembered and forgotten.

Audiences love them for their powerhouse vocals, guitar wizardry, and groovy rhythm section. And with the recent addition of a top-tier horn section featuring some of the regions’ most talented players, the band has further cemented its place among the most versatile, reliable, and entertaining acts in the region.

Rouses Markets Cooking Demo Stage presented by USA Rice Schedule - 2:15 – 5:00 pm

2:15 – 2:45 pm: Nino Thibodaux, Executive Chef, Rouses Markets

3:00 – 3:30 pm: Benchawan Jabthong Painter, 2023 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Texas, Executive Chef/Partner, Street to Kitchen, Houston, TX

3:45 – 4:15 pm: ---

4:30 – 5:00 pm: Dustin Frederick, Chef de Cuisine, Restaurant Calla and Ben Herrera, Restaurateur/Owner, The James 710, 121 Artisan Bistro and Restaurant Calla

Louisiana Cookin’ Demo Stage Schedule 2:15 – 5:00 pm

2:15 – 2:45 pm: Kristin Preau, Jambalaya Girl, Chef/Owner, New Orleans, LA

3:00 – 3:30 pm: Anthony Goldsmith, Kajun Twist & Grill, Lockport, LA and Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou Tourism

3:45 – 4:15 pm: Owen Hohl, 2023 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off King, Hot Tails Restaurant, New Roads & Prairieville, LA

4:30 – 5:00 pm: Michael Gottlieb, Tchefuncte’s Restaurant & The Anchor, Madisonville, LA and Jeremy Reilly, Restaurant Cote’ and The Maple Room, Slidell, LA, Visit The Northshore

“Louisiana Craft Brews Alley” presented by the Louisiana Craft Brewers Guild

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Sunday Jazz Brunch
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Tickets: $99 per person

Children 6-12 years $35 per person, under 6 free admission.

This lively Jazz Brunch is one like no other, with an all-inclusive priced ticket featuring unlimited beverage tastings with a souvenir glass, live Jazz music, a lavish brunch with carving stations, Louisiana Seafood stations, made-to-order omelet stations, variety of desserts and more. A variety of the festival’s official beverage partners will participate with an impressive Bloody Mary Bar, Mimosas, sparkling wines, sprits, wine and beer and more. A fantastic festival finale event!

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Dates: September 14 – 17, 2023

Location: Various Location in Lake Charles, LA

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