A New Orleans Dining Experience with a Rebuilding Agenda

House of Blues Foundation Room, The Patrón Spirits Company team up with St. Bernard Project and Louisiana Seafood and Marketing Board to rebuild homes and lives for families in the New Orleans area, to bring more Hurricane Katrina survivors home in 2011.

Sit-down, five-course dinner and paired specialty cocktails prepared by top New Orleans chefs, Patrón mixologist; proceeds go to St. Bernard Project’s rebuilding program

New Orleans, Louisiana, April 2, 2011 – House of Blues Foundation Room New Orleans, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and The Patrón Spirits Company have partnered with St. Bernard Project, a CNN Hero award-winning rebuilding organization in the New Orleans area, to bring more Hurricane Katrina survivors home in 2011.

On Saturday, April 2, House of Blues Foundation Room New Orleans will host a five-course sit- down dinner of Southern cooking prepared by some of New Orleans’ top chefs, including Brian Landry of Galatoire’s restaurant and Justin Devillier of La Petite Grocery.

Each course will be paired with a specialty Patrón Tequila cocktail to compliment the flavors of each dish. The staple of this dining experience is fresh-caught, healthy and safe Louisiana seafood. Since the oil spill, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board has worked hard to support the fishermen of Southeast Louisiana whose livelihoods were devastated by the BP oil spill, and tell the rest of the country that Louisiana seafood is not only delicious, but safe.

“In Louisiana, seafood revolves around family. It is harvested by families who have been in the seafood business for seven or eight generations and it is served at family celebrations and gatherings. Not only will guests at tonight’s dinner get to experience the freshest and best tasting seafood in the world, but they will be supporting Louisiana fishermen and the families who are helped by St. Bernard Project,” says Ewell Smith, chair of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

All proceeds from this event will go to St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit disaster rebuilding organization serving residents in St. Bernard and Orleans parishes. SBP's mission is to remove the physical, mental, and emotional barriers for vulnerable families, senior citizens and disabled residents who are struggling to recover from the devastation and trauma caused by Hurricane Katrina and, more recently, the oil spill. With just 8-12 weeks of volunteer labor and about $20,000 worth of building supplies, SBP can move another family home. With the money raised from the event, SBP will be able to move another family home, almost six years after the storm.

“St. Bernard Project is excited and honored to bring together such a group of socially conscious companies and organizations for this great event,” says Zack Rosenburg, cofounder and CEO of St. Bernard Project. “The problems in the New Orleans area are solvable, and with their help, and the help of our guests, we are working toward tangible solutions for deserving American families.”

For those interested in purchasing tickets to the event, you may do so here (look for the “SBP Events” section on the page) or you may reserve a spot by emailing rsvp@stbernardproject.org.

St. Bernard Project is a proud United Way Partner Agency. Live United.

8324 Parc Place, Chalmette, LA 70043 || www.stbernardproject.org || 504.277.6831




About St. Bernard Project: St. Bernard Project has been working tirelessly to help solve the enduring housing and mental health needs in the New Orleans area resulting from Katrina and, more recently, the oil spill. St. Bernard Project serves those most in need by rebuilding homes, providing a free high-quality mental health and wellness care clinic, and now, job training in residential construction. St. Bernard Project takes donated funds, materials, and energy and puts them to work with efficacy and speed.

Founded in 2006 by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney of Washington, DC, SBP with the help of over 29,000 volunteers and 4,000 donors and partners has rebuilt 349 homes in the region, provided free mental health services to hundreds of uninsured patients and created jobs for local residents. Because of these results, SBP has received numerous awards and accolades including 2010 Louisiana Social Innovators Award, 2009 Gambit New Orleanians of the Year, 2008 CNN Hero of the Year, and was mentioned in President Obama's 4th and 5th Anniversary Hurricane Katrina speeches.

About the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board: The LSPMB was created in 1984 by the state of Louisiana to support their vast historical commercial fisheries industry. The Board is composed of 15 members and each member represents a sector of the industry: harvesters, processors, wholesalers, restaurateurs/retailers, fisheries resource managers, public health officers and marketing specialists.

The Board’s operating budget is derived from license sales to Louisiana commercial fishermen and seafood wholesalers/retailers as well as state and federal grants. The Board represents over 12,000 fishermen while promoting and marketing $2.6 billion of retail seafood sales annually to the consumer.