You Deserve Another Video Break

by Sydney Blanchard

Look, it's Wednesday. We know you're not getting anything done anyway. Instead, watch these cool videos that we had something to do with.

Behold! Below you'll find sexy food shots, Jay scarfing down hot dogs, and Jay plummeting to his (near) death.

Enjoy!

Cooking Culture

In which four LCI grads talk about their love of cooking and Baton Rouge

Hot Dog Eating Contest

In which Jay wins a hot dog eating contest

Jay in the Dominican Republic

In which Jay plummets down a steep ravine

The Truck, the Brewer, and the Blogger

In which Jay serves up food for a pop-up event at the Tin Roof Tap Room

Into the Mix

In which Jay eats his way around town with 225 Magazine

Cooking Culture with Stephany Novoa

To call Stephany Novoa a prodigy wouldn't be an overstatement. The Sous Chef at Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Cuisine in Baton Rouge balances being a full-time business student at LSU with her culinary career and family life.

Stephany (far right) stands behind the prep table in this behind-the-scenes shot with other featured LCI chefs

Stephany grew up cooking with her Honduran family, though her mother wasn't initially pleased with her culinary ambitions.

Stephany is one of LCI's great success stories. She's young, ambitious, and helping mold Baton Rouge's restaurant culture.

Check out this video, made by tommystv in conjunction with Visit Baton Rouge and LCI, to learn more about Stephany!

Cooking Culture with Chef Traci Vincent

By now you're probably familiar with the Cooking Culture series we made with tommysTV featuring Visit Baton Rouge and four successful Louisiana Culinary Institute graduates.

Chef Traci Vincent was the first LCI student we interviewed. Her openness, her warm personality, and her great sense of humor proved her the perfect Cooking Culture candidate.

Chef Traci Vincent displaying her culinary chops for the cameras at Louisiana Culinary Institute 

The Baton Rouge native discovered her passion for cooking Louisiana cuisine when she was working in Washington, D.C. She missed home, and she missed the food she grew up with, so she started cooking for herself and for her friends.

She moved back home, enrolled at LCI, and the rest you can watch here:

Cooking Culture with Chef Nathan Gresham

If you didn't know, a few months ago, Team Bite and Booze collaborated with Visit Baton Rouge, TommysTV, and four Louisiana Culinary Institute graduates to showcase what Baton Rouge's food scene has to offer.

Behind the scenes in the kitchen at Beausoleil 

One of the chefs we got to interview was Chef Nathan Gresham at Beausoleil Restaurant & Bar. Chef Nathan journeyed across the country taking on a number of cooking jobs before winding up as a chef-owner at Beausoleil. His story is definitely unique, but not unheard of around here.

People have a tendency to fall in love with Baton Rouge.

Chefs Ryan Andre' and Nathan Gresham prepare an outdoor dinner for the Cooking Culture video series

Without further adieu, here's Chef Nathan Gresham in his own words.

Be sure to check out all four of the Cooking Culture videos!

Cooking Culture with Chef Ryan Andre'

Earlier this year, Team Bite and Booze had the opportunity to collaborate with Visit Baton Rouge, TommysTV, and a handful of Louisiana Culinary Institute graduates to showcase the ever-growing food scene in the capital city.

Behind the scenes during the filming of Cooking Culture at City Pork Brasserie and Bar with Chef Ryan Andre'

For the first video in the series, we sat down with Chef Ryan Andre' to learn about his journey to becoming a chef and what he hopes to bring to the Baton Rouge culinary scene.

Signage leading to the City Pork kitchen

We learned that each of these chefs came into the culinary world from different backgrounds and circumstances, and each of the featured chefs contributes their own unique cuisine to Baton Rouge.

Filming, scripting, and getting to watch these talented chefs do what they do best was quite an experience.

Be sure to check out all four of the Cooking Culture videos.