Famous Chef Supper celebrates 25 years

Sunday’s Famous Chef Supper fundraiser for Central Catholic High School held at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium marked the 25th anniversary of the event that featured the dishes of six different chefs from Lafayette.
Maggie Bergeron, event organizer and Sacred Heart/Central Catholic Alumni Association director, sold about 450 tickets for this year’s dinner, she said.
Central Catholic Principal Deacon Vic Bonnaffee said the school would not exist without supporters. “It doesn’t exist without the stewardship concept that Maggie Bergeron has, in which her family and generations behind her have,” Bonnaffee said.
Brian Blanchard, a Morgan City native and owner/executive chef of iMonelli, Café JoJo’s, à la carte restaurants, River Oaks Catering and Event Center, and NicoBella Catering and Event Center, said Bergeron asked him to cook at the first dinner 25 years ago. “Each dinner was just a particular chef ... and they did that for a few years,” Blanchard said.
Bergeron is alumni director of the Sacred Heart/Central Catholic Alumni Association.
Blanchard, who lives in Lafayette, was invited again to prepare the dinner on the 10th anniversary. That year, Blanchard told Bergeron his idea to invite award-winning chefs from Lafayette to prepare dinner. “She liked the idea, and that started with this,” Blanchard said.
Blanchard plans to start adding some new twists to the event, he said. The chefs who cook the dinner are friends of Blanchard’s whom he has known for many years in Lafayette, he said. “We get called to do fundraisers like this in Lafayette all the time,” Blanchard said.
The first year the chefs came to the dinner as a personal favor to Blanchard, he said. “Once they did it one time, the people were so pleasant, so appreciative, they loved it. And they told me we’ll come back as long as you want us to,” Blanchard said.
Patrick Poupart, pastry chef at Pouparts Bakery in Lafayette, said this year was his 16th year to attend the dinner. Poupart tries to mix up what he serves each year, he said.
Nash Barreca, executive chef at Nash’s Restaurant in Lafayette, said he has been attending seven or eight years. Barreca, who is friends with Blanchard and Gilbert Decourt, executive chef at Artisan Creative Catering, was originally invited to the supper after one chef dropped out of participating. Nash has been coming ever since, he said. “I do a lot of fundraisers, and this is probably the best group of people anywhere,” Barreca said.
Other chefs participating included Richard Boudreaux, executive chef at à la carte restaurant; and Wayne Jean, executive sous chef at iMonelli Restaurant.
Blanchard’s menu included Crispy Soft-Shell Crab with Balsamic and Cane Syrup Drizzle and Oyster Rockefeller Bisque. iMonelli Restaurant served seafood crepes topped with a Roasted Pepper Cream Sauce and a Puff Pastry Cup filled with Lump Crabmeat Chardonnay Cream.
Boudreaux served Kibby and Stuffed Grape Leaves while Barreca served Crawfish Remoulade and Chicken Marsalla. Poupart’s desserts included chocolate marquis and lemon mousse, and Decourt prepared Pork Orloff and Shrimp Provencial.