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Lights, Chefs, Action SOME OF THE GULF COAST’S FAVORITE CHEFS HAVE APPEARED IN OUR ADS by Marcy Nathan, Creative Director New Orleans has always celebrated its chefs and restaurants. But when we opened our first stores in the city in 2007 — acquiring A&P’s Southern Division just two years after Hurri canes Katrina and Rita — the city’s love for its chefs had never been stronger. Food was helping rebuild New Orleans. We quickly started noticing just how many chefs were shopping in our stores — not just making a quick grocery run, but truly shopping, filling their carts with local produce, fresh Gulf seafood

just as proudly as we did the white- tablecloth chefs. What began in New Orleans quickly expanded across the Gulf Coast, spotlighting the culinary traditions of Lafayette, Baton Rouge and the Missis sippi Gulf Coast — and the shared reliance on local ingredients, fresh seafood and time-honored techniques. When the Saints drafted Brandin Cooks in 2014, we did too — retooling the campaign as The Best Chefs and Cooks Shop at Rouses . And it made sense. Some of the best cooks I know don’t work in restaurants — they cook for their families, their neighbors, their commu nities. (Cooks has since returned to the team — and to Rouses shoppers’ hearts. See page 60. ) That same year, we also opened our first stores in Alabama. The pages of Rouses Magazine are where we continue to tell the stories of the Gulf Coast’s rich and flavorful food culture. Recent features have included Alex Patout, the Louisiana-born chef known for his iconic Cajun cooking, and another Cook — Eric Cook — who spent years in some of New Orleans’ most storied kitchens, including Command er’s Palace, before opening his own restaurants, Gris-Gris and Saint John, and authoring the cookbook Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine . It may have started as a campaign, but it’s always been true: The best chefs and cooks shop at Rouses.

and ingredients you didn’t find at just any grocery store, but you could find them at ours. Our deep local roots and focus on fresh, local ingredients stood in stark contrast to the national chain we were replacing. In early 2008, we launched Where the Chefs Shop — an advertising campaign that quickly became something more: a love letter to everything local and the people who shape Gulf Coast cuisine. It spotlighted some of the biggest culinary names in New Orleans and beyond — Paul Prudhomme, Susan Spicer, John Besh and Michael Regua, who served as executive chef at Antoine’s for decades — alongside rising stars like Alon Shaya and Brian Landry, then at Galatoire’s. Even Emeril Lagasse lent his imprimatur, appearing in print ads that celebrated his connection to the community through food. My favorite TV spot featured the late Chef Paul Prudhomme proclaiming, “If you live on the Gulf Coast and you’re hungry, there’s no other place to go but Rouses!” The campaign also gave long- overdue recognition to the people in the kitchen — the ones whose names weren’t always known, but whose food people remembered. We featured the chefs at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Dickie Brennan’s and Crescent City Steaks. And we celebrated oyster shuckers and po-boy makers

BEING LOCAL MEANS SHOWING UP FOR OUR NEIGHBORS — ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF NEED. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Each year, we help fight hunger across the Gulf Coast by donating millions of meals to local families. Our Food Bank Assistance Program runs year-round, supporting food banks in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It’s easy to help. You can scan a donation coupon at the register to add a few dollars to your total, or purchase a pre-packed Brown Bag of canned goods and drop it in the donation barrel. From there, local food banks and food pantries collect directly from our stores and get those supplies to the people who need them most.

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