MONROE, La. – Chef Chase Woodard of Parish Restaurant in Monroe is the 2024 King of Louisiana Seafood beating 10 other chefs to win the 17th Annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off presented by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. For the first time, the event happened in Monroe in conjunction with the Up Yonder Food & Wine Festival. To win the crown, Chef Woodard prepared an ahi tuna dish highlighting his creativity and the superior quality of the seafood that comes from Louisiana’s shorelines and vast waterways.
Chef Woodard is a native of northeast Louisiana who started his culinary career in New Orleans in 2015. He has a passion for Louisiana flavors with Southeast Asian influences. When he got the opportunity to move back to Northeast Louisiana, work with Chef Cory Bahr at Parish Restaurant, and explore the cuisines of the Delta region, he said he took it!
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser offered congratulations to Woodard stating, "“Congratulations to Chef Woodard, Parish Restaurant and all of the amazing chefs who showcased the best seafood in the world - Louisiana seafood - at this year's cook-off. It was an exciting event with dishes that ranged from redfish to shrimp to softshell crawfish. Always demand Louisiana seafood and support these restaurants and our local fishermen and women"
The first duty for the 2024 King of Louisiana Seafood Chef Woodard is to prepare to represent the state in the 20th Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans on Saturday, August 3. Additionally, Chef Woodard will serve as a Louisiana Ambassador for seafood for the next year promoting all the great dishes in our state that will Feed Your Soul.
Closely behind Chef Woodard in second place was Chef Sullivan Zant of Vestal in Lafayette. And, coming in third place was Chef Ben Fidelak of Mariners in Natchitoches.
Those inspired by the chefs’ culinary creativity and looking to bring the state’s best seafood dishes to their own kitchen can visit www.LouisianaSeafood.com for recipes of each competing dish
