Cooking demos back on the Experience Louisiana Festival menu of events

Two Louisiana chefs and a food writer are scheduled to present demonstrations at the Experience Louisiana Festival Oct. 22 to 23 in the Community Education Builidng on the LSUE campus. 
Food writer George Graham is present at 1 p.m. Oct. 22 fresh off the Oct. 15 release of his 320-page cookbook collection of stories and recipes Acadiana Table: Cajun and Creole Home Cooking from the Heart of Louisiana published by Harvard Common Press.
On Oct. 23, Chef James Hamilton of the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder and Chef Christoper Thames are scheduled for demonstrations. 
Hamilton’s demonstration is at 11 a.m. followed by Thames at 3 p.m.
Graham has lived in South Louisiana for all his life. He has been an avid student, chronicler, and photographer of the region’s culture and culinary traditions. Born into a restaurant family and a former restaurateur himself, he has written about Southern food for newspapers, magazines, and he has been a finalist on television’s Food Network Challenge. In 2013, he launched the blog Acadiana Table: George Graham’s Stories of Louisiana Cooking and Cajun/Creole Culture, which already has been a finalist for Best Food Blog: Regional Cuisine in Saveur magazine’s 2014 Best Food Blog Awards and also for Best Food Blog in the 2015 IACP Digital Media Awards
Hamilton, who is returning to the festival, began his career at Coushatta Casino Resort in April 2006 and is executive chef.  He brings 15 years of expertise to the position.  James is an active member of the Kinder community, occasionally instructing culinary art at the Family & Consumer Science class at Kinder High School.  His grandmother’s cooking captured his interest in culinary arts, prompting him to attend culinary school to continue his passion for cooking.
Thames is the executive chef and co-owner of Grand Coteau Bistro in Grand Coteau.  Among his accomplishments is 2011 Food Network “Chopped” Champion.  With over two decades of culinary experience, Thames has spent his career preparing meals that meet the needs and wants of his guests. His creative mind challenges him to marry exotic favors with specialty ingredients to create culinary combinations that are inventive and often addictive.  His diverse experience ranges from corporate catering as the executive chef for the International Finance Corporation/World Bank, fine dining as the executive catering chef of the Jefferson Hotel and even offsite catering as a the traveling chef for Cirque Du Soleil headquartered in Montreal Quebec.
Festival events are free, but there is a $5 parking fee.