In 2020 the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation and United Way of Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA) joined forces to create the Fish Fry Fridays campaign to benefit Hospitality Cares, a crisis grant program offering emergency financial assistance to people working in the hospitality industry – one of our region’s largest employment sectors.
The program awards emergency grants up to $2,500 to eligible employees at businesses running active United Way workplace campaigns in the hospitality industry in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes. The funds supply temporary aid during times of crisis to cover basic financial needs, including housing, medical and utility bills. Beginning tomorrow we will have upwards of twenty-five choices for The Fish Fry Friday dinners. Participating restaurants will donate $1 per fish fry entrée sold each w eek through April 15.
The campaign was initially launched to help hospitality workers who were laid off during the pandemic. It raised over $12,000 from restaurant sales and a sponsorship from Tabasco, which also sponsored the campaign in 2021 and is doing so again this year. New Orleans Fish House is offering discounts to participating restaurants for their seafood specials.
Participating restaurants and their Lenten specials can be found at FishFryFridays.org.
On the Northshore, sister waterfront eateries Tchefuncte’s Restaurant and The Anchor on the gorgeous Tchefuncte River are both excellent seafood-centric destinations for Lenten dining. Both offer fresh, local fish that is butchered and prepared in-house as well as outdoor seating that is just the thing for taking in this sensational early Spring weather. Tchefuncte’s seafood highlights includes the House Cured Ora King Salmon & Osetra Caviar, Asian Spiced Tuna Tartar, Chilean Sea Bass and Pan Seared Gulf Snapper. The Anchor’s seafood menu highlights include the Smoked Salmon Dip, Peel & Eat Shrimp, Seared Tuna Salad, Grilled Mahi Sandwich and Crispy Shrimp Poboy.
I am a member of Food Gals, a national online group for women who work in the culinary field either as members of the media, in restaurants, or in research and development. One of our members, Sarah Karnasiewicz, has started a fundraising Folk Art & Food Raffle to help the resistance in Ukraine. The raffle launched just days ago and has already raised over $6,500. Sarah’s family has been in America for more than a hundred years. But before he migrated to New Britain, CT, her paternal great-grandfather was born in a small town southeast of Kraków, about 100 miles from what is now Poland’s border with Ukraine. A half century later, when her parents married, her Polish American grandmother taught her Irish American mother the family recipes for the pierogies she makes for every wigilia and wedding so Sarah is motivated to raise some money for the people of Ukraine who are fighting so desperately to preserve their families, their history, their freedom, and their HOME.
The raffle will run through March 10 with 100% of proceeds going to @razom.for.ukraine. On March 11 she will pick two winners at random, both of whom will receive a bountiful box of ALL KINDS OF GOODIES including vintage Ukrainian linens; painted pysanky eggs; a copy of Mamushka, the gorgeous Ukrainian cookbook by Olia Hercules ; a stash of old world honey; a flourless chocolate poppyseed cake; a batch of plum liqueur; two dozen homemade pierogies; a handwritten recipe card that includes her family’s pierogies recipe and some other surprises.
To enter: Venmo: @Sarah-Karnasiewicz along with a message noting the number of tickets you want and your email or Instagram handle so she can contact you later. One ticket is $10, two tickets are $15 but you can buy as many tickets as you want. Funds will be donated to @razom.for.ukraine and you will be given a receipt for your donation.
Whatever your faith or lack thereof let us all use this penitent season of Lent to be better neighbors and to help each other.
