The Summer 2021 EatLafayette campaign is kicking off next week with Taste of EatLafayette at the Cajundome Convention Center.
For the fourth year, Lafayette Travel will host the event in conjunction with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and the 2021 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off (LASCO). This year's event is set for Tuesday, June 22, from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
The tasting event offers a chance to sample cuisine from locally owned restaurants participating in EatLafayette while watching chefs from across the state compete for the title of Louisiana Seafood King/Queen.
"There is no better way to show Louisiana is a place where you can Feed Your Soul with the great culinary culture found in our largest cities all the way to our smallest towns than by having some of the best chefs in the state cook up some of the best seafood in the world," said Nungesser.
EatLafayette is a year-long initiative, with a summer campaign held from late June to mid-September. Diners are offered delicious deals by more than 200 locally-owned restaurants ranging from Cajun to Italian to BBQ and everything in between. Ken Veron, owner of Cafe Vermilionville, says the campaign celebrates everything that is Lafayette food and the restaurants that make up the city's unique food scene.
The initiative's summer-long event offers incentives to visit and support local restaurants specifically during the summer months. Veron explained that it focuses on what each individual restaurant offers to Lafayette as a whole.
"You can come to Cafe Vermilionville and get a four-course meal. This is what we do. Then you have places like Judice Inn, and this is what they do, and places like LaFonda. It's a celebration of diversity. We have so much rich culture here and diversity of food. And it's not just celebrated locally, it's celebrated globally."
Veron said he hopes people visit restaurants they haven't been to in awhile, or those in areas of town they may not normally visit. The best way to support is to head out to a local eatery. And he hopes everyone remembers Lafayette has the best food in the world.
"We don't have the ability to put ourselves out there in terms of some of the bigger chains do. This campaign is more like an integrated effort to where we all come together and do our best to promote ourselves as a whole. And the community is the biggest part of this."
Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased online by visiting www.eatlafayette.com/events or at the Cajundome box office during business hours.
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