Riverfront Reveillon: A Taste of 1940s New Orleans
Friday, December 5, 2025 at NOCCA, 2800 Chartres Street
Enjoy a nostalgic holiday meal and entertainment presented by NOCCA’s Culinary Arts and Entertainment Production Design departments
NOCCA’s Culinary Arts and Entertainment Production Design departments are excited to present “Riverfront Reveillon: A Taste of 1940s New Orleans,” an immersive, 1940s-themed dining experience on Friday, December 5 (6 pm) at NOCCA’s Lupin Hall (2800 Chartres Street). Guests will enjoy a four-course dinner, beginning with Cajun-inspired hors d’oeuvres followed by three seated courses with wine pairings for $150 (inclusive of tax and gratuity). Tickets are now available to purchase at http://RiverfrontReveillon.eventbrite.com, and all proceeds will support NOCCA’s Culinary Arts and Entertainment Production Design departments.
Travel back to the 1940s — when mobile phones were restricted to Dick Tracy comics, and when America’s baby boom birthed one of New Orleanians’ most beloved icons, Mr. Bingle. The nation was changing quickly during those post-war years, but through it all, one local tradition remained constant: the reveillon dinner.
“This dinner is a love letter to New Orleans,” said Chef Dana D’Anzi Tuohy, chair of NOCCA’s Culinary Arts department. “In learning about these special holiday dishes, students have the opportunity to think about their own families and their traditions, their own ways of being with one another during special times of the year. It encourages them to think about food and how the foods we make in turn make our community.”
The 2025 Riverfront Reveillon menu includes:
- Hors d’oeuvres: Cajun-Inspired Appetizers, served with Bois-Brincon Cremant de Loire Brut
- Soup: Smoked Tomato Redfish Courtbouillon, served with Buil & Gine Rueda Nosis (2023)
- Entree: Slow Roasted Duck, Sweet Potato Dirty Rice, served with Weingut Dr. Heger Tuniberg Pinot Noir (2019)
- Dessert: Gateau di Syrop, Fig Leaf Ice Cream, Fresh Fig Compote
The evening will begin with a cocktail hour, accompanied by an abundance of appetizers and a menu of performances to bring out the 40s flavor. Afterward, you’ll step onto the stage of Lupin Hall, where NOCCA’s talented Culinary Arts students will present a meticulously curated meal with wine pairings, inspired by New Orleans holiday fare. Guests will be seated banquet-style to enjoy the meal and additional entertainment.
“By the 1940s, radio was well established, movies and records were everywhere, and the television was becoming a must-have in every home,” said Blake Coheley, NOCCA’s Director of Admissions. “We have some of the world’s best music to choose from for this event, and it’s going to sound incredible. The students are so excited to share this snapshot of an era with our guests.”