Shreveport's Chef Tootie headed to Charlotte for the Louisiana x Charlotte Restaurant Night

Meredith G. White, Shreveport Times
·3 min read

Chef Tootie Morrison left Abby Singer's Bistro above the Robinson Film Center earlier this year, but she hasn't hung up her apron for good.

Morrison is one of the top 14 Louisiana chefs headed to Charlotte to feature the state's unique flavors in several of the area's top restaurants.

The Louisiana x Charlotte Restaurant Night will take place on Thursday, November 3 as part of the Louisiana Culinary Trails tourism marketing campaign. This special event is presented by the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, the Louisiana Travel Association, the Louisiana Office of Tourism and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board.

This event will combine the culinary expertise of chefs in Louisiana and North Carolina to offer Charlotteans a taste of the Bayou State's vibrant culture and flavorful cuisine. There will be 28 chefs total at 14 restaurants that will offer a one-of-a-kind experience available at various price points and presented as a private ticketed dinner with a prix fixe menu or special featured dishes.

“Food is a way of life in Louisiana, and our culinary heritage and flavors are unlike anything else in the country,” says Louisiana Travel Association Executive Vice President Laura Cating. “With multiple direct flights to Louisiana, we’re excited to give Charlotte residents a sample of the flavors of Louisiana, inspiring them to make Louisiana their next travel destination.”

Morrison has been paired with the executive chef at Community Matters Cafe in Uptown Charlotte, Chef Chayil Johnson for the event.

Johnson is originally from Laplace, Louisiana and began studying the culinary arts at the age of 12 at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts before moving to Charlotte to obtain his degree in Culinary Arts and Foodservice Entrepreneurship. His food is inspired by the culinary memories and experiences of Cajun and Creole cuisine that he grew up with while adding in the influences of his love for Middle Eastern and Northern African cuisines. His love for the community is evident in his work at Community Matters Cafe where the core mission is to help those who are battling addiction and substance abuse by teaching life skills and implementing them in the setting of the cafe and restaurant.

Tootie Morrison, chef of Abby Singer’s Bistro (and Louisiana Food Prize’s inaugural Golden Fork champion), is a winner the 2020 Battle for the Golden Fork: Power to the People competition and recipient of a $1,000 cash prize.
Tootie Morrison, chef of Abby Singer’s Bistro (and Louisiana Food Prize’s inaugural Golden Fork champion), is a winner the 2020 Battle for the Golden Fork: Power to the People competition and recipient of a $1,000 cash prize.

Chef Morrison is an award-winning, critically acclaimed chef and entrepreneur who is the executive chef and owner of the private chef and catering company Earnestly Tootie's Chef Services. Recently, Morrison opened a new restaurant in Shreveport called Earnestly Tootie's where the menu features her signature shrimp and grits balls along with unique specials like Jerk chicken lollipops and cinnamon roll waffles. Her career experiences include receiving a culinary scholarship to travel to North Africa where she lived and worked in the village of Zwaiya Ahansal, Morocco for 14 days.

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Other participating chefs in Louisiana include:

  • Chef Ryan Trahan of Vestal in Lafayette

  • Chef Madonna Broussard of Laura's II Cafe in Lafayette

  • Chef Amanda Cusey of The Villa Harlequin and the 2022 Louisiana Seafood Queen in Lake Charles

  • Chef Lyle Broussard of Barstool Sportsbook inside the L'Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles

  • Chef Ross Dover of Palmettos on the Bayou in Louisiana Northshore

  • Chef Amanda Birdsong of Cured on Columbia in Louisiana Northshore

  • Chef Cory Bahr of Parish Restaurant & Standard Coffee Co. in Monroe-West Monroe

  • Chef Celeste Gill of Chef Celest Bistro in Baton Rouge

  • Chef Jeremy Langlois of Lati's Landing at Houmas House in Ascension Parish

  • Chef KJ Townsend of Quizine Quarters in Houma

  • Chef Ben Fidelak of Mariner's in Natchitoches

  • Chef Johnnie Gale of Crawfish Town USA in St. Martin Parish

  • Chef Isaac Toups of Toups' Meatery in New Orleans

Reservations are available now for the members of the Charlotte community and can be made by contacting the participating restaurants directly. For more information on the event, chefs and restaurants, visit the Louisiana x Charlotte website.

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveport chef headed to Charlotte to showcase Louisiana's cuisine