The official Books Along The Teche Literary Festival returns for a sixth year, featuring various opportunities for exploring the realms of literary history, culture, and cuisine—all in the beautiful historic district of New Iberia. Among the events to be featured during this year's festival is the Louisiana Seafood Great Southern Chefs Food Demos.

Come join us for an incredible opportunity to watch local chefs prepare seafood and then you get to taste it. Local seafood cooking demo and tastings by Chef’s Cody and Samantha Carroll. Born and raised in the small farmer’s town of Batchelor, Louisiana, Chef Cody Carroll always made time for the kitchen. It was in his family’s hunting and fishing camps, preparing Louisiana game, waterfowl, and fish that his talent and passion for cooking flourished.

At the age of 18, Cody left his family’s farm to attend Louisiana State University, where he graduated with a degree in Business. He then enrolled at the Louisiana Culinary Institute to acquire his degree in Culinary Arts. It was here that he met Samantha, his future wife and business partner.

Chef Samantha Carroll grew up in the community of Gonzales, located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in South Louisiana. Her love for the culinary arts stems from waking up on weekend mornings to the distinct scent of roux being prepared in her family’s kitchen for gumbo. To this day, she swears there is no better smell.

Chefs Cody and Samantha graduated from culinary school in January 2010, and just three months later, transformed a former drive-thru convenience store in New Roads into Hot Tails; a rustic, South Louisiana style restaurant. The establishment was intended to be an outlet for the crawfish being raised in their farm, but has evolved to include a full menu of their versions of Louisiana classic dishes and elevated comfort food. Their dishes have been referred to as “Hardcore South Louisiana cuisine.”

Since opening the restaurant, they’ve traveled around the world to showcase Louisiana cooking traditions and ingredients, most notably winning the title of “King and Queen of Louisiana Seafood” in 2013.

In December 2017, Louisiana’s very own culinary couple rose to fame as Food Network stars, showcasing their farm-to-table cuisine and unique style in the kitchen as a true dynamic-duo on their own show: Cajun Aces.

COVID-19 AWARENESS: The festival will follow the State of Louisiana's guidelines. Should the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic make it impossible for us to ensure the safety of all attendees and participants as the date approaches, we will not hesitate to cancel or reschedule this event and provide refunds for every ticket purchased.

Terms & Conditions* No refunds will be issued within seven days of event date.* In the event of inclement weather, we will make every effort to ensure that guests are comfortably accommodated, but this may include moving the event to another location. In the event that a Books Along the Teche Literary Festival event coincides with weather severe enough to trigger a National Weather Service watch or warning within a twenty-five-mile radius of the supper site, the event may be rescheduled or canceled. If weather forces an event postponement, every effort will be made to reschedule within a reasonable time frame. Existing tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled date. If circumstances require a cancellation, a full refund will be issued.

This event is just feature of the 2022 Books Along the Tech Literary Festival.

For a list of all participating events click HERE.

Festival Ticket Packages are available. Click HERE for details.