NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Wine & Food Experience will kick off its 2021 event with the Ella Brennan “Stand Up for Your Hometown” Awards gala dinners on Tuesday, June 8 at three locations: Galerie de Galatoire, the Rib Room and Broussard’s. This year, the NOWFE board of directors will honor 13 organizations for their support of the community during the pandemic.
“There are thousands of people and entities in our community who contributed to the outstanding efforts in response to the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Aimee Brown, NOWFE executive director. “The recipients of this year’s award are a representation of those that banded together, and certainly not an exhaustive list of those that are so deserving.”
The Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Award was named for restaurateur legend Ella Brennan. 2021 winners are:
- Al Copeland Jr. of the Al Copeland Foundation (Broussard’s)
- Phil Moseley and Ronnie Evans of Blue Oak BBQ (Rib Room)
- Robert Peyton and Troy Gilbert of Chef’s Brigade (Rib Room)
- Zeid and Marv Ammari of Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts (Broussard’s)
- Erich and Jennifer Weishaupt of Lagniappe Krewe Emergency Relief Fund (Galerie de Galatoire)`
- Devin De Wulf of Feed the Front Line and Feed the Second Line (Rib Room)
- Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski of Link Restaurant Group (Galerie de Galatoire)
- Jennifer Kelley Killian of Louisiana Hospitality Foundation (Broussard’s)
- Lauren Darnell of MiNO Foundation (Broussard’s)
- Melvin Rodrigue of the National Restaurant Association (Galerie de Galatoire)
- Zach Strief of Port Orleans Brewing Co. (Rib Room)
- Charles Armstrong of Peewee’s Crabcakes On the Go (Galerie de Galatoire)
- Isaac and Amanda Toups of Toups’ Meatery (Rib Room)
Each restaurant venue will host a selection of award recipients (noted above). VIP tables to the event are available at nowfe.com and include a VIP reception from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The dinner gala tickets are $150 per person and are sold through table purchases. Proceeds from the event benefit the many local nonprofit organizations that NOWFE supports throughout the year.
NOWFE 2021 is scheduled for June 8-13.
