DiRoNA gala celebrates New Orleans’ resilience, culinary traditions
NEW ORLEANS — Hundreds of chefs
and restaurateurs from North
America’s finest foodservice establishments gathered in New
Orleans for the Distinguished
Restaurants of North America’s
Gala and Educational Conference.
The three-day event brought
together DiRoNA members to
enjoy fine food and wine, learn
from one another in educational
sessions, and network.
The conference chair, chef John
Folse, planned several events at
venues meant to highlight the
Crescent City’s culinary and cultural heritage, including an opening night reception in Jackson
Square and the Cabildo as well as
a black-tie gala at the Plimsoll
Club, which afforded views of the
Mississippi River and the French
Quarter.
The conference theme, “Can’t
Blow Us Away,” spoke to both the
strength and resilience of the
people of Louisiana and to the
transition of DiRoNA to a
membership-based organization
and the major restructuring and
difficult decisions such a move
requires.
Educational sessions supported the theme by addressing
the current times of economic
uncertainty and how fine-dining
restaurants could cope with issues
like rising energy and labor costs
and decreased discretionary
income for many consumers in
North America.
DiRoNA was established in
1990 to promote the fine-dining
segment of the restaurant industry. Fewer than 800 restaurants
have earned DiRoNA distinction.
Left: Attendees listen
to one of the DiRoNA
educational sessions.
Below: DiRoNA chair John C.
Metz Jr., left, and chair-elect
William J. Hyde Jr., right,
welcome into the DiRoNA Hall
of Fame, from second from
left: Rick Powers of Beverly’s,
Coeur d’Alene Resort, Carlton
L. Curtis of Coca-Cola North
America, and Ralph Brennan of
the Brennan Restaurant Group.
Below: DiRoNA’s John Arena, left,
and conference chair John Folse
sample New Orleans’ cuisine after
the “Icon Foods of New Orleans”
educational session.
Above: Michael Batterberry, editor in chief and publisher of Food
Arts, led a panel of New Orleans’ culinary legends. Pictured, back
row, from left: Sal Sunseri, Lolis Elie and Batterberry. Front row,
from left: Paul Prudhomme, Leah Chase and John Besh.
Below: Jim Doherty, formerly of Lebhar-Friedman Inc., moderated a panel on
surviving in these challenging
economic times. Panelists included,
from left: Ellen Koteff of Nation’s
Restaurant News, Ted Balestreri of The
Sardine Factory, Christianne Ricchi of
i Ricchi, and Charles B. “Chick”
Marshall of Mr. Stox Restaurant.
Above: Conference chair John Folse, left, Michael Batterberry of Food Arts,
and DiRoNA chair John C. Metz Jr., right, meet with the chef at Dominique’s as
part of the DiRoNA Gala and Educational Conference “dine-around” event.
Above, from left:
Ti Martin and
Lally Brennan
presented an
educational
session on their
book, “In the
Land of
Cocktails.”
