Bayou Kitchen with Melissa Martin

On the Louisiana bayou, people mark the seasons of the Cajun calendar with traditions and gatherings around the table. Join James Beard Award winning Chef Melissa Martin as she tells stories and shares tastes from her new book Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life.

Bayou Kitchen at a glance:

6PM: Cocktails and appetizers, including black-eyed pea soup. Wine, beer and non-alcoholic refreshments will be served

6:45PM: Dishes inspired by the cookbook including Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo, and Jumbo Lump Crab Salad served family-style at communal tables

7:15PM: Conversation with Chef Melissa Martin and WAMC’s Joe Donahue discussing the heart and soul of the bayou, sustainability on coastal Louisiana, and recipe tips from her new book

8PM: Book signing and dessert featuring Red Velvet Cake

Tickets are $125 per person.

Seating is at communal tables and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Menu is subject to change slightly due to market availability.

Melissa M. Martin grew up on the Louisiana coast and has lived in New Orleans for over 25 years. Her first book, Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou, was awarded the James Beard Award for Best Book in U.S. Foodways and the IACP Awards for Cookbook of the Year and Best American Cookbook. It was also named a Best New Cookbook by Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, NPR, The Splendid Table, Eater, and Epicurious, among others. Martin has been nominated twice as Best Chef South by the Beard Foundation. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans and honed her self-taught culinary skills to a professional level. In 2014, she opened Mosquito Supper Club, a Cajun restaurant created to celebrate the bounty of the shrimpers, oystermen, crabbers, fin and crawfish fishermen, and farmers that define bayou cuisine. She writes about food, life, and love, not always in that order. Her latest book is Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life (pub: September 24, 2024). Follow her on Instagram at @mosquitosupperclub and on X at @mosquitosupper.

Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life and have it signed by the author.