Gulf to Plate Community Supper

Mississippi’s culinary community, seafood industry, and the Walter Anderson Museum of Art come together to host an evening of food and dialogue paying homage to the diversity of the Southern coast and encouraging cooperation to protect the bounty of the Gulf waters.

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2019 James Beard Foundation's Best Chef South Chef Vishwesh Bhatt of SNACKBAR (Oxford, MS) collaborates with James Beard semi-finalist Chef Alex Perry of Vestige (Ocean Springs, MS), along with Chef Michael Paoletti and Pastry Chef Stephanie Paoletti, to prepare a menu paying homage to the ingredients and foodways of the Mississippi Gulf. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art presents conversations with chefs and special guests to draw attention to the current threats to coastal ecosystems and aquaculture impacting the seafood industry and the region at large.  

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During a cocktail hour and between dinner courses, WAMA facilitates conversations with special guests, including chefs Vishwesh Bhatt and Alex Perry, Mike and Anita Arguelles of The French Hermit Oyster Company, and Jim Franks and Harriet Perry from the Gulf Coast Research Lab. Through personal stories and scientific insights, conversations will reinforce the meaning of these locally-sourced products not only as economic drivers and ingredients on a plate, but as vehicles for regional identity that connect communities around a shared table.

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Proceeds support the Walter Anderson Museum of Art’s nature-based educational programs and mission of the to empower lifelong curiosity and connection to the natural world through the art of Walter Anderson and kindred artists. 

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Gulf to Plate is presented by Mississippi Gulf Fresh Seafood in partnership with Snackbar; Vestige; Cathead Distillery; Fort Bayou Wine and Spirits; the City of Ocean Springs; Sweet Enchantments Cakes; and Food, Booze & Hiccups. 

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* All seafood will be safely sourced from offshore waters, while drawing attention to the reality that some areas of the Gulf are not currently viable for sea life due to critical environmental conditions related to the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Louisiana.

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Tickets: $100; includes all food and drink 

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About the Chefs

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Vishwesh Bhatt, the 2019 James Beard Foundation's Best Chef South and Southern Living Southerner of the Year, joined City Grocery in 1997. Under the tutelage of Chef John Currence, Vishwesh Bhatt began working as a line cook. After a brief hiatus to earn his Culinary Degree from Johnson & Wales University, Vishwesh returned to the City Gro-cery Restaurant Group as Catering Chef in 2002. In 2009 Chef Bhatt opened SNACKBAR, where using his years of culinary experience and exposure to worldwide cultures, he has created a menu that intertwines Southern and subcontinental Foodways. His work earned him a People's Best New Chef nomination from Food & Wine in 2011. SNACK-BAR has been recognized by local and national media as one of the finest restaurants in the South. Vishwesh resides in Oxford with his wife Teresa and their pets Tula and Bitbit.

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Alex Perry, a native of Ocean Springs, MS, earned a degree in biology from the University of South Alabama before pursuing a culinary career and graduating from the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando. Perry worked for eight years at NOJA, one of Mobile’s finest restaurants, before opening Vestige in Ocean Springs. His Modern American menus and approach — influenced by the legendary Thomas Keller — bring precision, ingenuity, and respect to a wealth of regional and global ingredients. Each day, Perry personally inspects every product delivery, from Gulf seafood to foraged mushrooms. His attention to detail and commitment to storytelling through food have earned Perry and Vestige national acclaim, including multiple invitations to the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival and a 2019 nomination for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: South.