Vineyard Gumbo Food - Marthas Vineyard Summer 2006 Festival of New Orleans Culture

Vineyard Gumbo, a New Orleans - Martha's Vineyard Summer Festival 2006

New Orleans’s culinary traditions are as admired and influential as its musical heritage, and as the festival name implies, will be prominently featured at Vineyard Gumbo. Vineyard Gumbo will bring several of the Big Easy’s most celebrated chefs, including Leah Chase, one of the truly royal figures in New Orleans soul food. Leah’s historic neighborhood restaurant, Dooky Chase, long beloved by locals and visitors alike, was severely damaged in the storm. Leah and the other participating chefs, including Corbin Evans, proprietor and chef of New Orleans restaurant LuLu’s in the Garden, and Poppy Tooker, founder of the New Orleans Convivium of Slow Food, will be hosting special dinners and demonstrating their craft at various island restaurants and other venues throughout the weeklong festival.

Also known as “The Queen of Creole Cuisine”, Leah Chase is a New Orleans chef, author and television personality who is famous for her promotion of African American art and Creole cooking. During the 60s, her restaurant was a gathering place for the Civil Rights movement.

As the Executive Chef at the Savvy Gourmet, Chef Corbin Evans oversees the restaurant operations. Chef Corbin also teaches Savvy Gourmet’s flagship cooking series — Fundamentals of Cooking. Corbin has worked at some of the world’s hottest restaurants — Bayona, Mr. B's and Gerard's in New Orleans; Jack's Firehouse in Philadelphia; An American Place and Tom Cat Bakery in New York City; and Michelin two star Jacques Cagna in Paris, France. Corbin graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and in his proudest moment, served as the manager for a French fry stand in the world’s largest mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Corbin is the president of Crescent City Farmer’s Market Board of Directors, and is very active in organic sustainable agriculture.

		Chef Poppy Tooker is a native New Orleanian immersed in the vibrant colors and flavors of her hometown. For over 25 years Poppy’s classes have centered on history and tradition as well as the food science reasons of why and how. Classically trained in the art of cooking by Madeleine Kamman, she was awarded both chef’s and cooking teacher's diplomas from Mrs. Kamman's professional course. A mainstay on the food heritage stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest, Poppy’s engaging cooking classes have also featured at Salone del Gusto in Torino, Italy and Books for Cooks in London, England.
	Poppy brought the international Slow Food movement to New Orleans in 1999 by founding a local chapter. She has served as an international governor with the Slow Food movement and currently heads the US Slow Food Ark and Presidia committee. Through Slow Food, Poppy has been instrumental in reviving endangered local foods such as Creole cream cheese and rice calas.

Chef Frank Brigtsen

Chef Frank Brigtsen is THE New Orleans Chef who receives the most local and worldwide recognition as the epitome of Louisiana’s traditional Creole – Acadian cuisine, and also receives critical and customer accolades for using local fresh ingredients in a creative way. We are honored that he will be joining Vineyard Gumbo. Please visit the Brigtsen's Restaurant website (see the Vineyardgumbo.com links page) or google him for more information.

It was a trip to New Orleans for the Jazz and Heritage Festival that fostered the love of Creole cuisine in Chef Darin Nesbit. Annual trips to New Orleans ensued and led this graduate of the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism program at the University of Wisconsin to enroll in the Culinary Program of Kendall College, in Chicago. And when he had a chance to pick where he would fulfill his externship requirement, he chose New Orleans.

Darin’s passion for New Orleans and her food blossomed under the tutelage of Executive Chef Jamie Shannon and Executive Sous Chef Gus Martin at Commander’s Palace. In 1997, Darin followed his mentor, Chef Gus Martin, to Palace Café to assume the role of Executive Sous Chef. Darin played a crucial role helping home cooks recreate Palace Café’s famed cuisine by developing and testing recipes for Chef Gus Martin’s cookbook, Palace Café: The Flavor of New Orleans.

Darin took command of the Palace Café kitchen from friend and mentor Gus Martin in 2003. Darin now serves as Executive Chef of Palace Café. Palace Café and its cuisine benefit from Darin Nesbit’s focus on food presentation, keen understanding of culinary technique, and zeal for flavorful Creole cooking.

Darin’s own mentoring skills attract serious culinary students from around the world. Under Darin’s direction, the best local produce is used to create seasonal, contemporary Creole dishes with great depth of flavor. All stocks, soups and sauces are made in-house. The art of charcuterie is being revived with an incredible array of sausages made and cured in-house. Ducks are dry-aged. Specialty breads, and all desserts served, are made in house.

Thankfully, Darin is willing to share his secrets with others. He is an especially talented teacher (communicator) of Contemporary Creole cookery. He was featured as a Guest Chef at the world renowned Cal-A-Vie Spa in Vista, CA, The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL, and the James Beard House (under Chef Gus Martin). Chef Darin frequently conducts culinary demonstrations for audiences of all sizes. He effectively shares his love of cooking in person, in print, and on camera.

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