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“That’s how most of the teams do it,” Gottsegen says. “We’re soliciting friends and family and business associates and things like that for direct contributions.” In addition, he says, some teams hold other fundraising events throughout the year. “There’s one team right now raffling a Jet Ski watercraft. We’ve done car raffles and such in the past that have all been successful. Some teams will do food sales and events during Mardi Gras and on St. Patrick’s Day — things like that. Whatever it takes to raise money. And of course, all of the food that we sell in our individual booths at the Hogs for the Cause event goes to the Hogs for the Cause organization.” And the teams take that food very, very seriously — with customary New Orleans panache. There are the standard compe tition categories like any other barbecue cook-off — whole hog, ribs, pork butts, sauce — but some non-traditional categories as well, such as side dishes that must use Blue Plate Mayonnaise, or incorporate Tabasco Hot Sauce, both of which are sponsors of the event. The teams are also free to shake things up. Fleur de Que, for example, serves a perennial fan favorite called Oysters Porke feller, which are charbroiled oysters with pulled pork on top. Other teams use mirthful, local pride with their themes, such as Team Hupigs Pies — a play on Hubig’s Pies — which makes and sells tens of thousands of

organization, their big annual fundraiser — the barbecue festival and competition — is also called Hogs for the Cause. At that event, Gottsegen says, about 95 teams — mostly from Louisiana with a few others from across the South — participate in a barbecue competition. But the fundraising doesn’t begin on the big day. In fact, it is a year-round activity on the team level. “Each one of those 95 teams is respon sible for individually fundraising for Hogs for the Cause, in addition to participating in the event itself, where we cook food that we sell and serve to the general public,” he says. Gottsegen’s team, Fleur de Que, is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — as are many other teams. “The sole purpose of our team — as well as every other team out there — is to raise money for Hogs for the Cause.” Being their own nonprofit increases accountability and allows flexibility in fundraising for the larger organization. Rouses Markets is a longtime sponsor of Fleur de Que, and will continue supporting the group and its goals in 2025. Rouses also supports Hogs for the Cause Baton Rouge, and donates bourbon for their events. Fleur de Que has been the top fundraising team with Hogs for the Cause for 14 straight years. Most of its money comes directly from individual donors, as well as corporate sponsorship.

apple pies filled with pork at the festival, and even serves them in little paper wrappers. “There’s some really super creative stuff out there, and there are absolutely no rules,” says Gottsegen. “You cook and serve whatever you want, and I think everything out there is fantastic. All the teams put their heart and soul and every bit of love they have into what they’re cooking, and everybody takes it very seriously.” Community drives Hogs for the Cause teams. “That’s one of the most important things about Hogs that people don’t really realize until they get out there and see what it’s all about,” said Gottsegen. Hogs for the Cause, he says, is a community unto itself — a family — and everyone involved has built lifelong friendships with people that they likely never would have crossed paths with, had it not been for the organization. “We all live in different places, have different lives, and different social and work networks. And yet we all rally together around this one specific cause — children’s brain cancer — and this one specific event. And it’s just amazing how all of that coalesces.” And the food at the Hogs for the Cause event is very much community style as well. These aren’t teams of professional chefs or restaurateurs. Hogs teams regular men and women with regular jobs. “I’m an orthodon tist — not a chef,” says Gottsegen. “And most everybody involved with Hogs is just like that: regular dudes, just weekend barbecue warriors. And in a sense that makes it even more a product of our community, because these are family recipes. This is as ground-up as you get.” A lot of work goes into their fundraising, but he calls it a “labor of love.” The longer Hogs for the Cause goes on, the more generational it becomes in nature. “We have two guys on our team whose dad was a barbecue master for years, and the recipes that they use were directly passed down from him to them. And they even had grandchildren out there this year, that came with them from Georgia. And the grandson is now learning these same recipes that are now third generation — maybe even longer than that.” The teams do almost everything locally. Most are from Louisiana, with a few from Mississippi. Fox Brothers BBQ, a famous Atlanta-based barbecue chain, raises

Team Fleur de Que has been the top fundraiser at Hogs for The Cause for 14 consecutive years. In 2024 alone, they raised $625,000, bringing their total contributions to nearly $3 million to support families battling pediatric brain cancer.

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