Roux’s Competing Team will Take Tampa to the World Championship Gumbo Cook-off in Louisiana

TAMPA, Florida – September 17, 2015 – Forget roux and “the holy trinity”; when it comes to perfect New Orleans-style gumbo, the secret is in… Tampa? 

That’s what the masterminds behind Roux Restaurant believe, and they’ve launched a kickstarter to prove it. 

Throughout food-obsessed South Louisiana, there is no single dish more revered and debated than gumbo.  Everyone loves it, but that is where any consensus regarding the centuries-old, soupy, stewy concoction ends.  What goes into gumbo, what doesn’t; how to make it, how you don’t.  Even how you define gumbo is a source of constant debate.  Even more so annually on the second weekend of October in New Iberia, Louisiana when teams bring their gumbo bowls to the World Gumbo Championship battlegrounds.  And Roux’s 4-Chef Team #BreakTheRouxles will be there with Roux’s secret recipe. 

The Team is made up of Executive Chef Bonnie Breaux, Chef Sean Ball, Chef Jason Sullivan, and Chef Laura Schmalhorst.  Chef Breaux is a returning competitor and a native to Lafayette, Louisiana, with strong culinary ties to New Iberia, the historic location of the Championship. “ I can’t wait to compete again in the Cook-off.  I’m looking forward to introducing my new Tampa friends to my old friends in New Iberia,” said Chef Bonnie Breaux. 

Roux’s Co-owner, Suzanne Perry, is also looking forward to her repeat experience with the World Gumbo Championship. “ We met and fell in love with Chef Bonnie at the World Gumbo Championship in 2014 and are excited for her to lead Team #BreakTheRouxles this year,” said Perry. “ Cajun country, we’re coming for you!” 

So… why Kickstarter? “ Not everyone who is excited about the Championship is going to have the ability to travel the 600 miles to New Iberia for the competition,” explains Perry. “ So, with Kickstarter, we’ve found a way to help people have their gumbo and eat it, too.” 

By claiming a bowl of gumbo via the Break The Rouxles Kickstarter, supporters are helping to represent Tampa at the World Gumbo Cook-off.  The goal of this project is to invite locals to join the Team one bowl of gumbo at a time and to raise $5,000 by September 30, 2015.  Rewards from participating in the Kickstarter campaign can be claimed at Roux in South Tampa between the third week in October of 2015 and January 30, 2016. 

Perks to joining Team #BreakTheRules by way of supporting the Kickstarter campaign include gumbo, team t-shirts, dinner at Roux for two, an appetizer-filled social for 12 guests, a menu item at Roux named after the purchaser for a year, a limited-edition, autographed recipe booklet featuring the two competing gumbo recipes, seafood and mélange, and several others. 

To help bring Team #BreakTheRouxles to the 2015 Competition, please visit the Kickstarter campaign here.  For more info about Roux, please visit the official website here.