A dinner for 14 prepared by Chef John Folse and his staff was auctioned off for $60,000 at the sixth annual “A Bite of the Arts” fundraiser hosted by the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center.
The $60,000, donated by Bill Oliver of Bellsouth and George Picou of Picou’s Drug Store, will be matched by the Board of Regents to create a $100,000 endowed professorship for the Culinary Institute.
A live auction, which featured the dinner for 14, was the last event of the night. The minimum bid was set at $1,500. The dinner included private limousine service and an eight-course dinner.
Folse, serving as the auctioneer for the dinner for 14, kept throwing in incentives to increase the value of the dinner. According to Folse, Congressmen Billy Tauzin had asked Folse during the fundraiser if they could cook together one day. So, one of the incentives was that Tauzin would be the Sous Chef for Folse during the dinner for 14 if their schedules coincided.
Folse who has cooked for the Pope, presidents and dignitaries throughout the world quickly named this dinner for 14 “The Dinner of the Century.”
The Bellsouth table and the Picou’s Drug Store table went back and forth raising the bid thousands at a time until the two businesses arrived at an agreement to both donate $30,000 and to share the “The Dinner of the Century.” After the Board of Regents match, their donation will total $100,000.
Oliver said Nicholls needs the right program and staff to make the Culinary Institute greater. “The only way to do it is to put up money,” Oliver said. He said that he is proud to be a partner with the Nicholls Culinary Institute.
The live auction also included a relaxing gold club and spa weekend, a seven-course dinner for 12 prepared by the faculty of the Institute, a five-course dinner for 12 prepared by a student team of the Institute and the “Trinity” original etching created for the event. The dinner prepared by the students was auctioned for $2,100, $300 more than the faculty dinner was auctioned for.
The live auction was only part of the night. The cost for the night ranged from $800 to $1,200 for a table of eight. Adele Lafaye, a member of the Bite of the Arts Committee announced that “tonight, we will have a taste of what is sending Nicholls students soaring.”
The food represented the four major geographical regions: The Rocky Mountain States, the Mid-west, the Central Plains and the South. Attendees were served hors d’oeuvres and fine wines for the first hour. Some of the hors d’ oeuvres served was the Central Plains pasta with molasses duck, toasted sunflower seeds and tomato jerky, Rocky Mountain Buffalo skewers and shrimp and tasso pasta.
The first hour also included guests bidding at the silent auction with 109 auction items. A six-course dinner for 10 with Dr. Ayo was available for auction during the silent auction.
During the first hour, student woodwind groups performed, and during the dinner, senior student pianists and soloists from the school of fine arts also performed. “It’s great that different departments at Nicholls help other departments,” Lonnie Thibodeaux, Master of Ceremonies, said.
The dinner consisted of a five-course gourmet meal. The students designed, prepared and presented the gourmet meal. Over 400 people were in attendance. “The students did this. What a great, great job!” Thibodeaux said.
“These people come, eat and enjoy. The love what we are doing for them, and we look forward to them coming back,” Emily Lemoine, culinary junior from Cottenport, said. “Every year, we try to make it better so that more people come.”
The event has raised more than $100,000 for student scholarship, equipment and culinary faculty development and research since the first “A Bite of the Arts” in 1997.
“What this program has done nationally in such a short time is incredible,” Folse said. Dr. Ayo said he thinks the Institute will not only continue to grow, but to grow with a lot of wonderful qualities.
Matt Schoen, culinary senior from Metairie and sous chef for the entre, said he was on his feet preparing for the dinner from 11 a.m. and that he would not be off his feet again until midnight.
“It’s an excellent event to show students what being in this business is about. It’s kind of a wake up call to some,” Schoen said. “You have to love it to be here.”
The event also featured the unveiling of a commemorative “A Bite of the Arts” original etching titled “Trinity” created by Ross Jahnke, printmaker, painter and associate professor of Art at Nicholls. Only 20 copies were produced. The original etching, hand-colored with watercolor, was signed by Folse and framed with the original plate from which the edition was printed.
On the back of the frame is proof that the plate was canceled. “I was very enthusiastic about it,” Jahnke said. He said the art is specific to this event. “It’s one of the best etchings that I’ve done. I’m very proud of it.”
The “Trinity” original etching was auctioned for $800 with a minimum bid of $300.
Not only was it constantly said by many that the food was delicious, the decorations were also commented on by many. The hors d’ oeuvres tables were decorated with ice sculptors made by the students. At the dinner tables were over 3 feet high centerpieces with a candle in the middle and beaded leaves flowing out of the top.
Jai Bourg, freshman from Golden Meadow, said that his first year working this event was “fun but tiring.”
The five-course gourmet meal included Rocky Mountain salad with smoked trout, spinach, oyster mushrooms and huckleberry vinaigrette; Mid-Western roasted beef tenderloin with thyme jus lie and phyllo parcels of maytag blue cheese served with confit of winter vegetables and a wild rice-black walnut croquette and buttermilk pecan cake with can syrup glaze, caramelized banana buttercream and a trio of caramel sauces.