The 12th annual Bite of the Arts Gala, a fundraising event hosted by the John Folse Culinary Institute, will kick off Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cypress Columns in Gray. The event is dubbed “Double Down,” a theme that reflects the college’s growth, Alton Doody, John Folse Culinary Institute dean, said. The freshman class doubled in size since last year from one student to two students. Overall, the institution had 21 more students in the spring 2008 semester than in the spring 2007 semester for a total of 133.

“With such an expansion, our resources need to expand as well,” Doody said in a press release. “I am therefore asking our supporters to double their commitments, so that we may continue to advance our program.”

The gala will feature recipes from chefs and restaurants that have mentored the University’s culinary students.

It will begin with a cocktail reception, which will include four sampling stations: a soup station, featuring Frank Brigtsen’s butternut shrimp bisque and Donald Link’s duck and andouille gumbo; an assorted meats and cheeses station; a cold seafood section, featuring Commander’s shrimp sauce, Westchester Country Club’s oysters mignonette and grilled marinated vegetables; and a hot seafood station, featuring John Besh’s jambalaya stuffed roasted pig and John Folse’s caramelized onion tart.

The dinner menu will include lobster and papaya salad, prepared by certified master chef Ed Leonard of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. Guests can also choose from braised beef short rib with caramelized onion demi-glace sauce, duchess potatoes and fall vegetable medley recipes by Rick Tramonto of Restaurant TRU in Chicago.

Wine will be served during the meal, and guests can end dinner with food from an assorted dessert buffet.

Annual live and silent auctions will accompany the fine dining. Participants can bid on artwork, cookware, home-cooked meals prepared by students and faculty of the John Folse Culinary Institute and dinner with John Folse at Bittersweet Plantation in Donaldsonville.

Packages are also available, including dinner for four at restaurants including Antoine’s, Bayona, the Court of Two Sisters, Brennan’s and Café Giovanni, as well as two-night stays at the Place d’Armes Hotel, the Loews New Orleans Hotel and the Omi Royal New Orleans.

Bidders can also wine and dine at University President Stephen Hulbert’s home with 10 guests, Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie with 14 guests, the Duncan Kenner House in New Orleans with 20 guests and either the Bittersweet Plantation or White Oak Plantation in Baton Rouge with 24 guests.

For entertainment, students from the Nicholls Division of Music will perform a jazz repertoire.

People wishing to attend the event can purchase corporate tables, which seat 10, for $5,000 each. Priority and standard seating are $150 and $125 per guest, respectively. People sitting at corporate tables and in priority seating will receive a commemorative event poster.

The John Folse Culinary Institute anticipates the event will raise about $1 million, Doody said in a press release. The money raised from the fundraiser will go towards a culinary scholarship, equipment, faculty research and development.