The aroma of homemade south Louisiana food being prepared, the sound of live Cajun music, the sight of people enjoying each other’s company right next to the Mississippi River, the feeling that everyone is here to celebrate and support coastal restoration in Louisiana—all of these ingredients come together for the Cook-off for the Coast.
Since the 1930s Louisiana has lost more than 2,000 square-miles of coastal wetlands, an area roughly the size of Delaware. Cook-off for the Coast—hosted by the Restore the Mississippi River Delta, Vanishing Paradise, and The Meraux Foundation—started in 2017 to bring Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish, just south of New Orleans, together in community. The annual event also serves to shed light on the region’s land loss crisis and importance of the coastal restoration work happening across the state.
Attendees enjoy free food and vote for their favorite recipe from the cook teams. Local music groups turn out to support, while an art competition features the regional nature and culture. Plus, it’s an opportunity for local organizations to set up booths and get people involved in restoring the coast.
Leaders from Restore the Mississippi River Delta—a coalition of the National Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, and Pontchartrain Conservancy that works to restore the Delta—look to Cook-off for the Coast as a way to connect with people on the ground.
Simone Maloz, the campaign director for Restore the Mississippi River Delta, says the coalition shares information about the impacts to the coast and asks people about what’s important to them. Many of the responses they receive show a desire to take action.
“The Mississippi River is what built this beautiful place in the first place, but it’s also what connects us to the rest of the nation…We have to tap into that power to be able to have a real, sustainable, long-term future here in coastal Louisiana,” says Maloz.
The coalition focuses on implementing key restoration projects from Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan. With the state cancelling the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion—the single-largest ecosystem restoration project in U.S. history—the work to accomplish other high-priority projects is more important than ever.
It’s a mission that’s important to Audubon’s work in building resilient coastlines to serve as the first line of defense for birds and coastal communities facing sea-level rise.
“This region is a flyway for many birds,” says Charles Allen, engagement director for Audubon Delta. “The birds are very critical sentinel species. They tell us a whole lot…about the environment. As we restore those wetlands, we protect the birds and the people.”
Part of the solution for ensuring continued restoration of the coast is training a workforce to address these needs. Since 2025, the proceeds from merchandise sales and donations at Cook-off for the Coast benefit Nunez Community College’s Coastal Studies Scholarship Program. The program blends wetlands ecology with hands-on learning opportunities and GIS technology skills to prepare students for being the next generation of coastal warriors, says Katherine Lemoine, the program chair of the education department at Nunez Community College.
Brenna Gourgeot, a student of the Coastal Studies and GIS program, is inspired to use these skills to support coastal work in her community. “I actually grew up right across the street in Violet, Louisiana…So I’m very intimately familiar with this part of the coast and the vanishing that’s happened of the coast.”
Aloe Lee, a student in the program who is also an ecological restoration specialist at Common Ground Relief, is pursuing soundscape ecology with the goal of combining sound design with coastal restoration and mapping. After living on the East coast and on the Gulf, Lee sees the importance of this vital work. “I think that this line of work is very personal because it directly reflects where I come from, and the work that I do is constantly inspiring not just me, but other people…”
Restoring Louisiana’s coasts and reducing its land loss not only impacts local people, jobs, and wildlife but also beyond the region, says Maloz. “Our work here in Louisiana affects our whole nation…other places in the whole world are looking to Louisiana as we face this climate crisis to say, ‘how are they dealing with it’ and ‘where are they meeting success,’ and certainly, ‘where are they finding obstacles?’”
Certainly one of those successes is celebrating and empowering communities to advocate for coastal restoration through Cook-off for the Coast.
To learn more about Cook-off for the Coast, watch this video.
