Shreveport Restaurant Celebrates Summer Solstice with Exclusive Dinner
Haley Wiggins | Special to the Times
Shreveport, Louisiana – June 24, 2024
On the evening of June 24, food connoisseurs filled Zuzul Costal Cuisine restaurant as chefs and kitchen staff hurried to provide their customers with quality cuisine and service. The Summer Solstice dinner celebrates the time of year by bringing in dedicated and talented chefs to showcase the influence of African cuisine in the south.
The sold-out event featured fresh vegetables from Gabriel Balderas’ Nourishing Farms and a vast and diverse menu filled with items like: spicy peanut butter deviled eggs, meat pies, summer salad, smoked king mackerel, red-red short rib, Mahaffey Farms pork 2 ways, and bofrot & nkatie.
Culinary Maestros Unite for a Memorable Night
Chef Tristen Epps of Epps and Flows Culinary, Chef Niematulai DiGrazia of Niema’s Cookery Corner, and Chef Gabriel Balderas of Zuzul Coastal Cuisine came together to create a quality menu and a memorable night. Epps, known for his international culinary expertise as an Iron Chef and Chopped contestant, emphasized the importance of community and cultural exchange through food.
“The most important part of this event is gathering the local community and breaking bread with people who don’t normally eat together, and then sharing that experience with food that they don’t usually have,” Epps said.
A Fusion of Cultures on the Plate
Epps highlighted the journey and evolution of food across different cultures represented by the chefs. “It started in West Africa where Niema came from, then into the Caribbean where I came from, and then up into the Americas where Chef Gabriel’s from and then worked its way here to the states,” Epps explained. The dinner aimed to celebrate the cultural richness that food embodies.
Chefs Bringing Roots to the Table
Chef Niematulai DiGrazia, originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, expressed her joy in collaborating with her fellow chefs. “Knowing where your food comes from and who prepares it gives me so much joy,” DiGrazia said. Her restaurant, Niema’s Cookery Corner, showcases West African and Caribbean cuisine.
Highlighting Cultural Heritage Through Cuisine
Chef Gabriel Balderas, hailing from Oaxaca, Mexico, emphasized the significance of educating customers about the cultural roots of the food they enjoy. The exclusive event, with only 65 seats, featured meticulously crafted dishes prepared from scratch, echoing the traditional preparation methods of their ancestors.
A Feast for the Senses
Each course at the dinner was paired with different wines and cocktails prepared by Zuzul’s bar staff. The guests received detailed explanations about the origins of the wines served, enhancing the overall dining experience. The use of specially crafted plates inspired by pre-colonial Mexican art added a unique touch to the evening.
A Growing Culinary Family
The restaurant’s familial and welcoming environment has not gone unnoticed by Gabi Balderas, daughter of the owners Gabriel and Brooke Balderas. Working alongside the chefs at the event, Gabi shared her pride in seeing the restaurant grow and evolve within the community.
“Even through time, I hope that the restaurant that we developed will run its course, do well, and adapt with change because the industry is always changing and it’s alive; it has a heart, and it’s beating,” Gabi remarked.