Farm-to-table cooking is a concept we associate with fancy restaurants -- but now it's coming to your own home kitchen! Join Chef April Boudreaux for a hands-on experience where you'll not only cook a delicious feast but also make an edible garden to bring home along with foolproof tips to keep it thriving (no green thumb required). Together, we'll prepare a seasonally inspired meal -- think seared Gulf fish or grassfed beef with citrus salsa, garden herb pistou, and braised greens -- and April will lead you through building your own container garden, prepping soil, and growing herbs from seeds and cuttings. Gone are the days of paying for paltry clamshells at the supermarket! This experience will teach you how to keep flavorful, nutritious ingredients right at your fingertips. All potting, herb, and cooking materials will be provided. This team-building experience is perfect for groups and families alike. Place your bid today!

Please note: This cooking experience is designed to be in-person in New Orleans for up to 12 people. If you would like to bid on this as a virtual experience, we are eager to accommodate you. Contact [email protected] for additional information.

About April Boudreaux

April Boudreaux is a New Orleans chef, foodservice entrepreneur, and currently the Procurement & Operations Manager at NOCHI. She's also a culinary adjunct instructor at Delgado Community College and is passionate about teaching students how to create and transform recipes using local availability. Since starting her culinary career in 1998, she's worked in everything from fine dining to corporate, and from private chef clients to small business startup (she is co-creator of Killer Poboys). As a consultant, her project portfolio includes menu/recipe development with nutritional focus, food styling, start-up conceptualization & streamlined systems implementation, and curriculum development.

She graduated from Johnson & Wales University with degrees in Culinary Arts, A.S. ('02) and Foodservice Entrepreneurship, B.S. ('05). As a Servsafe Proctor and Certified Instructor, she teaches Food and Kitchen Safety at NOCHI and provides community organizations in the disaster feeding realm support in this area.

As a member of the first cohort of Grow Louisiana (2019), a program designed to train future farmers on creating sustainable farming systems, she was able to learn from soil to market, all points of the food hitting plates. She has a vested interest in strengthening local food systems, rebuilding food systems post-disaster and in educating fellow consumers, chefs and farmers about the challenges and obstacles the stand in the way of an equitable food scape.

She was raised in Gretna and connected to local foodways throughout childhood because of generational family gardening, fishing, and market availability. She believes in the collective power of community members, chefs, growers and community leaders - both future and current.
"The future of our community's health outcomes depend on the support and promotion of the work of all local programs working towards food sovereignty, agricultural and culinary/nutritional literacy." - April Boudreaux