LRA Education Foundation teams up with Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue

There’s no doubt that if you live in Louisiana, you’ve seen the Blue Dog. He’s on Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie standing a story high on the neutral ground, the namesake of the popular Lafayette eatery and in the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s (LRA) conference room with Pete Fountain commemorating the 2000 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The Blue Dog is everywhere.

Artist George Rodrigue's Blue Dog has become a
Louisiana pop culture icon in recent years. The LRAEF & the
GRFA team up to inspire young artists and culinarians to
express their creativity through tradition and culinary arts.

The LRA Education Foundation (LRAEF) and the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) have partnered on an exciting new and groundbreaking project—an art-inspired cookbook celebrating the theme “Louisiana’s Culinary Heritage.” The GRFA holds an annual art contest for high school juniors and seniors in Louisiana and this year’s winning artwork will be used in the cookbook project.

“Louisiana is an international culinary melting pot,” said Rodrigue. “For centuries our food reflects a cultural history of adventurous cuisine. Our beloved Creole and Cajun culinary traditions and our cultural ‘gumbo’ of French, Spanish, African, Italian, Irish and German flavors influence a vibrant restaurant industry, impacting our state’s economy through jobs and tourism.” 

In addition to the cookbook showcasing the winning student artwork, it will include 100 authentic recipes from Louisiana’s greatest chefs. The proceeds will benefit GRFA and the LRAEF.

“The LRAEF administers the ProStart program in more than 45 high schools statewide, therefore the partnership is perfect to help raise awareness for careers available in the traditional art and the culinary arts fields,” said Alice Glenn, Executive Director, LRAEF.

ProStart is a two-year, dynamic and comprehensive culinary arts and restaurant management curriculum, also for juniors and seniors, designed to attract young people to rewarding and exciting careers in the Louisiana’s restaurant industry. Through fundraising and event sponsorships, the LRAEF has awarded more than $80,000 in scholarships to ProStart students and others wishing to pursue careers in the culinary arts, since the inception of its Scholarship Fund in 2010.

“We have such a bounty of seafood, wild game and produce in Louisiana which is center plate on menus throughout Louisiana,” said Glenn. “These indigenous items paired with the creativity of our chefs and home cooks have made our state an internationally recognized destination for native and fusion cuisines.”

Winners of the 2013 GRFA Art Contest will receive one-time college scholarships and awards totaling over $45,000 to the top 10 seniors and top five junior winners. If you are a junior or senior in high school and interested in flexing your creative artistic muscle, visit this site for details. The deadline is Feb. 20, 2013.

“We invite Louisiana’s high school juniors and seniors to create a work of art representing our state’s unique culinary heritage while honoring its festivals, dishes and local ingredients,” said Rodrigue.