The John Folse Culinary Institute will hold the 15th annual Bite of the Arts Fundraiser in the Cotillion Ballroom of the Student Union beginning at 6:30 this evening.

This year’s theme is “Kingambo to Gumbo: Celebrating the African Influence on Cajun and Creole Cuisine.” Randy Cheramie, executive director and instructor at the Culinary Institute said, “This is the culinary event of the year with great food, wine and ice carvings that will transform the ballroom.”

“Bite of the Arts is our major fundraiser,” he said. “The funds help us to maintain our standard of quality as we continue to grow.”

According to Cheramie, Kingambo is a Congolese term from the Congo of Africa that means okra, a term familiar to gumbos in Cajun cuisine. This year’s focus is on the African influence that inspired Cheramie to invite visiting chef Joe Randall of Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School in Savannah, Ga.

“The southern soul cuisine runs in Randall’s veins,” Cheramie said.

Randall is on campus to help culinary students prepare meals throughout the week and give his perspective of the African influence on Cajun cuisine.

Randall said, “I essentially learned how to cook authentic southern cuisine up north under one of my mentors, Robert W. Lee.”

He worked for Lee in the 1960’s when chefs were considered part of a domestic job and not a professional career. Randall opened his cooking school in 2000.

“I am now able to expose people to authentic southern cuisine,” Randall said.

Stanley Jackson, a member of Randall’s Chef Hall of Fame, will also be present at the event.

“Stanley Jackson is a legend in the New Orleans cooking community,” Cheramie said.

All meals prepared at tonight’s event will feature dishes from chefs found in special guest Rudy Lombard’s book, “The Creole Feast.”

His book, written in the 1970’s, pays tribute to the African American chefs who were working in the best hotels and restaurants in New Orleans at the time.

“These chefs never really got any credit before the celebrity chef of today,” Cheramie said. “We are taking old-fashioned New Orleans dishes and upscaling them with modern tastes, just as those chefs would do.”

Executive chef Paul Terrebonne and sous chef Kyle Benefiel are in charge of coordinating the approximately 150 culinary students participating in the event. They are also responsible for making the food order lists and changing recipes from “The Creole Feast” to accommodate 325 guests at the fundraiser.

“When changing recipes originally made for six to 10 people, you have to taste as you go,” Terrebonne said.

Guests will start their night with hors d’ oeuvres such as Crabmeat Louie by Charles Bailey, Half Stuffed Quail with Wild Rice by Rochester Anderson, Dooky’s Creole Gumbo by Leah Chase and more.

The main course will consist of Shrimp Remoulade by Charles Kirkland, followed by three dessert options of Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce by Austin Leslie, Strawberry Romanoff by Louis Evans and Mini Pecan Pie by Nathaniel Burton.

Guests at the event will have the opportunity to participate in a live auction hosted by chef John Folse and Cheramie. In addition, a silent auction of over 100 items will include cases of wine, golf packages, overnight stays at hotels along the gulf coast and restaurant packages from some of the best restaurants in New Orleans with wine included.

To keep up with the African influence, African dancers will dance to the beat of tribal drums throughout the reception area.

“We are looking forward to a great event,” Cheramie said. “I don’t know where we would be without it.”