Fresh from being named one of eight “Louisianians of the Year” in the January/February issue of Louisiana Life magazine, Chef Hardette Harris will host a public cooking class at The Woman’s Department Club in Shreveport on Sunday, Feb. 19. The class will begin at 11:30 a.m. Admission is $30 and tickets are available for purchase at FoodToursLouisiana.com. Those in attendance will learn how to cook items from the Official Meal of North Louisiana including fried catfish, hot water cornbread, greens and peach cobbler. They will also be able to participate in hands-on instruction and enjoy a lunch consisting of items featured in the class.
Chef Harris knows a thing or two about the Official Meal of North Louisiana – she spearheaded the charge to establish it. The meal, which you can read about here, was approved by the Louisiana House of Representatives and State Senate as House Concurrent Resolution No. 88 on April 29, 2015. In the nearly two years since the Official Meal became official, Harris has become known for her work as a chef and educator with organizations like Slow Food North Louisiana, Wegrowtogether, Renzi Education & Art Center and Reconciliation Dinner of Shreveport.
I asked Chef Harris how it felt to be named a Louisianian of the Year alongside folks like acclaimed photographer C.C. Lockwood and LSU Football Head Coach Ed Orgeron.
“I’m just letting it soak in,” Harris said. “For Louisiana Life to appreciate what I do as an advocate for North Louisiana cuisine, it means a lot. It says to me that they get it. They believe, as I do, that North Louisiana cuisine is being overlooked in the state.”
Harris is also one of the organizers of the upcoming Seasons & Traditions “Feast & Frolic” event at Mahaffey Farms featuring whole hog barbecue by Dr. Howard Conyers. That event will be held on Sunday, Jan. 29.
Read the Louisiana Life article naming Chef Harris a Louisianian of the Year.
RSVP to the Facebook event for the “It’s What We Eat” cooking class.
Featured photo: Chef Hardette Harris photographed by Jim Noetzel
