Highest Quality, Premium Beans, Peas & Lentils

In 1923, L.H. Hayward began sourcing and selling the finest red beans he could find at the old French Market in New Orleans, and his son, Gordon Hayward, trademarked “Camellia Brand” after his mother’s favorite southern flower. Today, Camellia is a 4th generation family-owned company in New Orleans and has continued to sell the highest quality dry beans, peas and lentils available for 100 years.

Grown in the United States, these non-GMO beans, peas and lentils consistently outrank the highest USDA grade and meet the higher “Hayward Standard” — a term coined by trusted farmers the family has worked with for generations. Always freshly harvested the same year they’re sold, they’re cleaned six times before being packaged in our iconic cellophane bags. That freshness ensures our beans cook faster and are consistent in taste, color, and texture. Camellia products are also BRC-certified, meeting the international standard for food safety practices and proof of our commitment to responsible food production.

100 Years of Beans Done Right

Camellia Brand has been bringing people together to make memories and enjoy family meals for a century, and our customers are the most important ingredient to that success. Just like a pot of red beans that is slowly simmered and lovingly tended to, the best things in life take time. We’ve always put our heart and soul into everything we do, and that’s the recipe that has kept us going for 100 years and counting.

Cooking a pot of Camellia red beans into a state of creamy perfection is an authentic, soulful Monday tradition that people look forward to every week. It’s kitchen therapy — the ultimate comfort food — and Camellia is at the very heart of this tradition. New Orleanians and Southerners — by birth or by spirit — are devoted to the Camellia brand and have built a community around how to cook, season, savor, and celebrate with Camellia beans. None of our competitors can stake a claim to the same quality, tradition, or passionate following.

Here’s to another 100 years of beans done right!

We’re thrilled to celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2023, and we’re commemorating this milestone by giving back to the community that has sustained us. Through a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, we’re helping the ongoing effort to end food insecurity in New Orleans and ensure that all of our neighbors have the food they need.

On January 9th, we began a year-long partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, and over the course of our centennial year, we’ll donate beans for one million meals.

“We are a company that began with one of my great grandfathers, a self-made businessman. His early life would not be characterized by riches; he began selling beans from a cart in the French Market, so understanding what it takes to survive is something we are reminded of within each generation of Haywards,” said Vince Hayward, CEO, L.H. Hayward and Company, parent company of Camellia beans.

From taking care of our neighbors as part of hurricane relief efforts, to COVID-19 pandemic efforts aimed at feeding healthcare workers and our city’s culture bearers, our ongoing desire to ensure adequate food resources is deeply embedded in our cultural values.

Camellia regularly lends its support to food distribution programs, community kitchen meal services, nutrition education, shelters, food banks, schools, and public benefits – ensuring families have a meal on their dining table at all times.

Stay tuned as we announce more partnerships in the coming months!

Vince Hayward, left, CEO of L.H. Hayward & Company, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Robbie Trahan, co-owner of Crowley’s Falcon Rice Mill and producer of Cajun Country Rice. The ‘Red Beans & Rice Mondays’ campaign benefitted the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank, helping provide 50,000 meals in the Fall of 2022.

In March 2023, Camellia partnered with Councilmember Freddie King III of District C — coming together just like Red Beans and Rice — to honor New Orleans culinary culture with “Red Beans Month”. The goal was to share the tradition of Red Beans and Rice and its significance with the next generation of New Orleanians, through an initiative with charter schools and InspireNOLA schools.

The following schools joined us in the initiative: Alice M. Harte Charter School, Dorothy Height Charter School, Dwight D. Eisenhower Charter School, Frederick A. Douglas High School, Harriet Tubman Charter School, KIPP Leadership, L.B. Landry High School, and New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy.

We shared an 8-minute documentary short film on the history of Louis Armstrong’s favored dish and provided a free and nutritious meal of Red Beans and Rice to students and faculty on Mondays, March 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th. The film presents insightful interviews with historians, authors, journalists, filmmakers, and respected tastemakers of the city, including Dr. Jessica Harris, Poppy Tooker, Stella Chase, Lolis Elie, Vance Vaucresson, and Rien Fertel. It was a joy and a pleasure to share our love of red beans and rice with amazing children from our local NOLA community!

Time to get excited, y’all! Your favorite Camellia Brand beans are now available at a Publix near you — including our signature Red Kidney Beans, Great Northern Beans, Blackeye Peas, Navy Beans, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, and of course, Large Lima beans.

Since 1923, our family-owned company has been delivering the best beans around, so you can create the dishes you love, for the people you care about most. We’re meticulous in everything we do – from sourcing our beans from the best U.S. farmers to getting them into the hands of Publix customers. In fact, our beans are non-GMO certified, cleaned six times, rank above USDA grade in quality, and are always fresh from the same year’s crop.

“People are responding to our authentic heritage brand, and we’re excited to be a part of how they cook and entertain,” says owner Vince Hayward. Camellia has played a big role in New Orleans culinary traditions over the years, particularly through the city’s favorite Red Beans and Rice dish. Hayward credits that popularity for crystalizing national demand for Camellia Beans. “We’ve found that visitors and former residents want to experience the delicious iconic dish wherever they are. Their satisfaction with Camellia Red Beans inspires them to reach for our other offerings,” Hayward added.

Our founder L.H. Haywardbegan selling red beans in 1923 at the old French Market in New Orleans. His son, Gordon Hayward, trademarked “Camellia Brand” after his mother’s favorite southern flower. Around 1940, he came up with the revolutionary idea to package beans in individual cellophane bags. And to this day, those iconic bags are a staple in kitchens all over New Orleans and all around the country.

Check our store locator for availability.

White Bean Pesto Pasta

A no-brainer weeknight meal, this White Bean Pesto Pasta offers a fresh-tasting, protein-packed dish full of healthy whole grains. Just four ingredients make it fast and easy!

Cozy Minestrone

This healthy, veggie-packed soup combines fresh vegetables, pasta, diced tomatoes, and Camellia Brand Cannellini Beans. You’ll wanna curl up and get cozy with a big bowl.

Pasta E Fagioli (Bean Soup with Pasta)

A classic Italian dish, our Pasta E Fagioli gets big flavor from salt pork, Camellia Brand Great Northern Beans, and Dagostino Birdseye Pasta.

Kid-Friendly Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli

Super easy to make, this stick-to-your-ribs staple includes great northern beans, red kidneys, and Dagostino Fleur de Lis Shaped Pasta. Just add a salad and your favorite crusty bread for a complete meal.

Kid-Friendly Pasta & White Bean Salad

A high protein lunch for kids and adults alike, this salad can be made ahead and enjoyed right out of the fridge, all week long. And it tastes great with any combo of your family’s favorite veggies and cheeses.

L.H. Hayward & Company, 96-year-old packager of the popular Camellia Brand of beans, peas and lentils, has acquired Dagostino Italian Specialties, LLC, a Baton Rouge-based company that produces handmade air-dried pasta and small-batch sauces, as well as supplies the finest olive oils, balsamic vinegars and Italian specialties directly from Italy. L.H. Hayward & Company will take over operations for Dagostino Italian Specialties effective immediately. Dagostino’s employees will transition to L.H. Hayward, and the company will remain intact as a wholly-owned entity.

“L.H. Hayward is delighted to welcome the Dagostino brand into our family, especially given the rich Italian history and culture of New Orleans,” said Vince Hayward, fourth-generation owner and CEO of L.H. Hayward & Company. “Since 1926, Dagostino has produced the freshest, most authentic pasta and sauces, and we look forward to continuing that tradition. L.H. Hayward’s strategic alignment with Dagostino will provide us with the opportunity to offer bean-based pasta, more readily be in the gift box business and allow us to open up Baton Rouge distribution for our growing portfolio of brands.”

Dagostino has used old-world techniques to produce the finest, freshest artisan pasta for almost a century. The family traditions that originated in Sicily are still being adhered to today as a symbol of the company’s commitment to its Italian heritage. Dagostino’s pasta is made using only the finest durum wheat (100% Semolina), and is air-dried over rods in wooden cellars, just as it was done in Sicily for centuries. Celebrated for its delicate texture and classic flavor, the brand’s pasta is handmade, all-natural and preservative-free. Additionally, Dagostino’s creates one of the most authentic sauces available outside of Italy using timeless family recipes. The sauces are made in small batches with a unique blend of fresh herbs and spices, resulting in a delicate texture and robust flavor.

Robert Dagostino, Charles Dagostino and Daniel Thompson bought the Fresina Pasta Company in 2013 in an effort to expand operations, and in 2015, changed the name to Dagostino Pasta Company. “We’re extremely pleased to be part of the L.H. Hayward family and look forward to continuing to provide our quality products in Louisiana and beyond,” said Robert Dagostino.

The acquisition of Dagostino is part of L.H. Hayward & Company’s ongoing efforts to expand its legendary portfolio while providing consumers with the highest quality products. In 2018, L.H. Hayward & Company acquired Gulf Coast Blenders, a New Orleans-based company that produces a wide array of dry ingredient blends and mixes for some of the area’s most famous restaurants. Founded in New Orleans in 1923, Camellia Brand is best known for its red kidney beans, used most often in the iconic red beans and rice dish. Camellia Brand packages 19 different non-GMO certified, 100 percent U.S.-farmed beans, peas and lentils that are washed six times and rank above USDA grade in quality and freshness.

Camellia Brand Expands Distribution western United States

For the first time in its 96-year history, Camellia Brand’s high-quality beans, peas and lentils will be available in the western United States. Food service customers will be able to obtain the brand’s 19 varieties of premium, non-GMO products through the Denver division of Shamrock Foods Company, one of the top 10 largest food service distributors in the country.

“Our expansion into the western United States is a tremendous milestone for Camellia,” said Vince Hayward, CEO and fourth-generation owner of Camellia Brand’s parent company, L.H. Hayward & Company. “This partnership with Shamrock allows us to expand our footprint and bring our versatile portfolio of premium beans, peas and lentils to a much larger audience.”

New Shamrock Locations

Established in New Orleans in 1923, Camellia Brand is currently available throughout the much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Through Shamrock Foods Company, Camellia’s products will be able to offer its dry beans, peas and lentils to restaurant, hospitality and institutional foodservice customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Premium Quality Beans

Alon Shaya, James Beard Award-winning chef and Camellia Brand ambassador, uses the brand’s products in both his Denver and New Orleans restaurants, Safta and Saba. “We’re so happy to have our favorite beans in Denver now! Just when you thought our hummus at Safta couldn’t get any better, Camellia beans have arrived and are being whipped into creamy garbanzo goodness as we speak,” Shaya said. “We’re so excited to add more than just Camellia garbanzo beans to our menu, and to share this amazing product with our friends and neighbors here in Denver.”

Any of Camellia Brand’s 19 varieties of dry beans, peas and lentils are available in 1-lb. retail packaging, 25-lb. food service packaging, and 2,000-lb. totes for industrial processors; the minimum weight to ship is only 500 pounds. The family-owned company is dedicated to bringing people together through notorious, economical meals created with their premium products.

Camellia Brand has expanded its products in Sam’s Club stores to include the new 4-pound Large Lima Bean pack size.

New Sam’s Club Location

Camellia Brand’s non-GMO certified, 100 percent U.S. farmed, gluten-free beans will be in 14 Sam’s Club stores throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Camellia originated in New Orleans in 1923 when L.H. Hayward & Co., began selling red beans at the Old French Market. Since then, Camellia Brand Beans have expanded to stores across the United States.

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy our premium-quality products. For this reason, it’s always our goal to get more of our products on the shelves of stores in as many locations as possible,” said Vince Hayward, fourth-generation owner and CEO of L.H. Hayward & Co. “Beans are something you can always buy in bulk and have on hand. We look forward to expanding a variety of 4-pound options to supermarket shelves on a widespread scale.”

Premium Quality Beans

Established in 1923, Camellia Brand distributes premium dry beans, peas and lentils throughout the South, and has recently expanded to the Northeastern United States. The New Orleans-based company has grown tremendously since its inception. The 4-pound Large Lima pack is the first variety to be offered in addition to Camellia’s Brand iconic Red Beans currently available in Sam’s Clubs. Along with the Large Limas, Camellia plans to introduce several beans, pea and lentil varieties based on consumer demand. A couple of the new product offerings in Sam’s Clubs are: Pinto Beans, Blackeye Peas, Lentils, Black Beans and Small Reds.

“Creating a new pack offering for Sam’s Club with our Large Lima Beans was driven by high consumer demand of our 1-pound Large Lima in these southern states” added Robert Blake, director of sales with L.H. Hayward & Co. “We love adding products to shelves because our consumers want more.”

Dedicated to bringing people together through their beans, Camellia Brand encourages families and friends to “Gather ‘Round,” cook and enjoy a meal together. Unlike other dry beans, the 19 types of beans, peas and lentils are each cleaned six times to ensure they do not have to be soaked or rinsed prior to cooking.

Vince Hayward and CJ Gallo, former owner and CEO of Gulf Coast Blenders

L.H. Hayward & Company, 95-year-old packager of the popular Camellia Brand of beans, peas and lentils,has acquired Gulf Coast Blenders, a New Orleans-based company that produces a wide array of dry ingredient blends and mixes for some of New Orleans’ most famous restaurants. L.H. Hayward will take over operations for Gulf Coast Blenders effective immediately. The acquisition of Gulf Coast Blenders is part of L.H. Hayward & Company’s ongoing efforts to expand its legendary portfolio while providing consumers with the highest quality products.

“We’re thrilled to welcome into our family an organization with the same dedication to quality and excellence as Camellia Brand,” said Vince Hayward, fourth-generation owner and CEO of L.H. Hayward & Company. “For years, Gulf Coast Blenders has earned an outstanding reputation for producing premium quality custom dry ingredient blends for the city of New Orleans and beyond. Our intention is to both continue this tradition and expand distribution for others to enjoy the products we produce.”

Both companies are deeply rooted in New Orleans and are committed to continuing the legacy of its unique and authentic culinary scene. For almost 28 years, Gulf Coast Blenders has been dedicated to producing spices, seasonings, and fish and chicken fry mixes in line with traditional New Orleans cuisine, especially in its Creole roots. Founded in New Orleans in 1923, Camellia Brand is best known for its red kidney beans, used most often in the iconic red beans and rice dish. Camellia Brand red kidney beans are now the top-selling red bean in the country.

Vince Hayward and CJ Gallo shaking hands inside Gulf Coast Blenders

“Gulf Coast Blenders has been my heart and soul for years and I’ll continue to remain active in the business,” said CJ Gallo, former owner and CEO of Gulf Coast Blenders. “Selling was a difficult decision, but Camellia Brand’s dedication to tradition, high-quality products and bringing people together made the decision easier. I have no doubt that Camellia will continue to thrive in New Orleans and across the U.S., and it excites me that more consumers will be able to enjoy the blends and mixes I’ve dedicated much of my life to.”

Camellia Brand packages 19 different non-GMO certified, 100 percent U.S.-farmed beans, peas and lentils thatare washed six times and rank above USDA grade in quality and freshness, no soaking necessary. The family-owned company is dedicated to bringing people together through hearty, economical meals created with their premium products for over 95 years.

Photo credit: Timothy Gendron

“An army marches on its stomach,” Napoleon Bonaparte once declared.

And so does the army of service professionals who maintain one of New Orleans’ — and America’s — most treasured culinary institutions: Galatoire’s.

What is the secret ingredient that fuels their daily march toward gustatory excellence? The late-afternoon staff dinners, which employees refer to as the “family meal.”

While legions of bon vivants dine on the signature French Creole dishes that made Galatoire’s legendary — such as Trout Marguery, Pompano Meuniere, Eggs Sardou, Godchaux Salad, Crabmeat Yvonne, Oysters en Brochette, and Shrimp Remoulade, to name just a few — the staff itself feasts on hearty, mostly off-the-menu fare prepared by the same kitchen crew that satisfies paying customers’ tastebuds.

What combination dish arguably reigns supreme at the Galatoire’s staff meal? Red beans and rice paired with fried chicken.

Galatoire Descendant: “Beans Are Perfect”

“Obviously for a staff meal you want something tasty, you want to keep your employees happy, and you want to keep them well-fed,” opined David Gooch, a member of the Galatoire family and former general manager. “And you need something that’s reasonably priced. That’s why beans are perfect. Beans are delicious, cheap, but they taste very good and they’re filling. Chicken is very reasonably priced. … You try to keep your soldiers healthy and happy and well-fed — and our employees, too. When you have a happy employee, you have a happy customer.”

Although Galatoire’s has never offered red beans and rice on its official menu, preferring to focus on the more highfalutin jewels of French-inspired Louisiana cuisine, Gooch himself doesn’t turn up his nose at Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong’s favorite dish. “My family, we cook beans at home just like everybody in New Orleans does. We do red beans on Monday just like most people do, but … other days of the week too.”

How does Gooch, who worked in the Galatoire’s kitchen for four years in the early ‘70s, do his beans? “I like a little extra butter, and I do put a dash of ketchup in it. Not too much, but I do like a little. The sweetness of the ketchup adds to it for me. And a little bit of butter adds to the richness. But of course they have to be cooked way down. I like them thick, creamy. Ham hocks, sausage, smoked sausage — I don’t like anything too spicy in sausage.”

“Tuesday Was Always Our Monday”

Ironically, although red beans and rice are synonymous with Mondays in New Orleans, they’ve never been served to the Galatoire’s staff on that day — for an obvious reason: The restaurant is closed Mondays.

And while red beans and rice are now served on Saturday, it wasn’t always so. The 2004 book “Galatoire’s: Biography of a Bistro” by Marda Burton and Kenneth Holditch describes how cook Wallace “Wally” Shelby, who started out as a busboy in 1947, spent his twilight years there:

“Wally still works strictly from memory, and now works a limited schedule, preparing the staff’s meals. When the food is ready he calls ‘Fooooooood Oooooooout!’ Red beans and rice is one of his specialties. Since the restaurant is closed on Monday, ‘Tuesday was always our Monday, so I cook red beans on Tuesday’ — red beans and rice being the traditional Monday dish in New Orleans. Often regular customers ask for a dish of it.”

With Shelby since retired, 36-year Galatoire’s cook Fernando Guiterrez now whips up most of the staff meals but doesn’t recall when Saturdays became red-bean day at Galatoire’s. A native of Managua, Nicaragua, Guiterrez learned to cook at a young age. “My mother, she used to have a restaurant, and I grew up just watching what she was doing.”

How does Guiterrez prepare the red beans? “It’s regular red beans, Camellia. Yeah, we get the big sacks. We just cook 5 pounds every Saturday for all the employees. We use pickled meat, smoked sausage, and ham, and the rest is vegetables, like onions, celery, bell pepper.”

Guiterrez adds his own special mojo to the flavor. “I make my own Creole seasoning. We use all the spices, everything ground like garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, salt, paprika.”

“One of the Favorite Meals Anywhere”

Family meal occurs daily around 4 p.m., with cooks, waiters, bartenders, porters, hostesses, and managers lining up, filling their plates in the kitchen, and taking seats in the main dining room, or else fanning out to tables in the adjoining restaurant, Galatoire’s 33 Bar and Steak. Others eat in the kitchen or standing up in the hallway behind the dining room’s central-control desk.

“It’s good, always good,” longtime maitre’d Arnold Chabaud observed while eating on his feet. “A staple of New Orleans, red beans and rice. It was only on Monday that they made red beans because you put a pot of red beans on. It would last all day while your laundry got done the rest of the day. That’s how it came to be. Most restaurants were closed on Mondays too. That’s why I think red beans were a big hit.”

“Anywhere you go around New Orleans, this is one of the favorite meals anywhere: red beans, rice, and chicken,” said porter Reggie Johnston, leaning against a kitchen wall, plate in hand. Commenting on the Camellia product, Johnston noted, “That’s probably one of the most popular beans here in New Orleans. That’s THE bean, yeah you right.”

“This is one of the best staff meals in the city,” waiter (and WWOZ disc jockey) Michael Dominici enthused. “Good, solid red beans, which keeps you nourished for the afternoon, and for a busy shift, it’s a perfect meal. It’s also very New Orleans to have red beans — a continuation of a New Orleans cultural thing to have red beans and staples like that. Most restaurants don’t take the time to prepare a really soulful, substantial meal like that.”

Sitting at a table in the main dining room, waiter Chris Evangelista Torres explained how his personal embellishments to the dish before him pay homage to his Puerto Rican roots. “I Latinize my red beans with cheese, green onion, and — as an ode to my childhood — my grandmother would put capers in her beans. I do the same.”

The Best Fried Chicken In Town? You Be the Judge

The other half of Saturday’s staff meal, the fried chicken, also has its devoted fans — among both the staff and the public. The golden crispy yardbird is not on the regular Galatoire’s menu but is available by request, with some waiters suggesting an accompaniment of Crab Maison, Shrimp Remoulade, and a side of brabant potatoes. “Our customers claim it’s the best fried chicken in town,” Arnold Chabaud confirmed. “The chicken is the best,” seconded Robert Engelhardt, head bartender at Galatoire’s 33. “Saturday-night chicken is my favorite, personally.”

White Beans That “Melt in Your Mouth”

Fernando Guiterrez cooks a variety of other dishes for staff meals, including blackeye peas, tacos, beef stew, and Salisbury steak. Another favorite is his white beans, served about every other Tuesday. “We call it butter beans,” he said. “We use the big ones. … It’s a big difference (from cooking red beans). They have bacon. You sauté bacon after you sauté onions and you don’t put a lot of vegetables, just onions and bacon and parsley. You use seasoning.”

“Spectacular,” Chabaud said of the white beans. “It’s a great dish. It’s creamy, soupy, delicious. I have one waiter here that does — it’s like a soup. He takes the beans and smashes them and he puts the liquid on and it comes out like a soup. He loves it.”

The white beans are a “special treat,” Robert Engelhardt said. “We get the red beans — they’re awesome. But you get the white beans as a special treat because those are just as nice. They’re just creamy; they melt in your mouth. Beautiful.”

And one of the most distinctive foods served at the Galatoire’s staff meal is yakamein soup, a dish virtually unknown outside of New Orleans but sharing recognizable characteristics with several ethnic cuisines. Legend has it that yakamein descends from recipes brought by Chinese immigrants of the 19th century, and it also resembles the pho that is the mainstay of New Orleans’ large Vietnamese community and its restaurants.

But modern-day yakamein is found mainly in African-American neighborhoods, with its most famous proponent being Linda Green, “The Ya-Ka-Mein Lady.” Some food historians attribute the dish’s introduction stateside to African-American soldiers who developed a taste for noodles during the Korean War. “It’s a traditional New Orleans dish in the black community,” Chabaud explained. “It’s a lot of substance for little money.”

Join Galatoire’s Now for “We Live To Eat Restaurant Week”

Except for the fried chicken, most of the grub served at the Galatoire’s family meal won’t be coming to your table there (unless you have the right waiter — wink, wink). However, you can always count on savoring any number of the countless iconic dishes that helped earn Galatoire’s the 2005 James Beard Foundation Award for Most Outstanding U.S. Restaurant.

The perfect time to visit Galatoire’s is now, during the Sept. 14-20 “We Live To Eat Restaurant Week” celebrations, sponsored in part by L.H. Hayward and Company, the packager of Camellia Brand dry beans, peas, and lentils. Galatoire’s and Galatoire’s 33 are joining dozens of local restaurants across the metro area in offering special menus to encourage diners to get out and experience New Orleans’ unique culinary heritage while supporting the restaurant industry, a huge cog in Louisiana’s economy. If this is where you’re at, don’t just eat to live — live to eat. And Galatoire’s is a wonderful place to start.

The recipe contest will challenge high school students in each of the participating 52 ProStart Programs statewide to create an original recipe featuring one or more Camellia Brand products: Red Beans, Lady Cream Peas, Black Beans and Crowder Peas. Details were presented to ProStart students at the beginning of school year and each team will develop recipes throughout the fall semester before submitting them to be reviewed by LRAEF and Camellia Brand selected judges.

Ten finalist teams will be invited to prepare their recipe in person for a LRAEF and Camellia Brand tasting panel of judges. First and second place recipes will be selected by judges based on taste, presentation, creativity, and originality. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash award and the runner-up will receive a $1,000 cash award payable to the school to be used for support of the ProStart Program.

The winning recipe will be featured in promotional materials and on the Camellia Brand website. The winning students will be celebrated at a luncheon and offered paid cooking demonstration and brand ambassador opportunities at Camellia Brand-involved trade shows, events and festivals. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in live stream video opportunities and Camellia Brand’s new product line developments.

“So many of us grew up eating Camellia Brand beans,” said LRAEF Executive Director Alice Glenn. “This is a great way for the students to not only pay homage to such a long-standing Louisiana staple, but also to give them an opportunity to show their skills and ingenuity in creating a new dish. Who better to ask for recipe innovation than ProStart students, the future leaders of Louisiana’s culinary and restaurant industry?”

“Louisiana ProStart Program students take the initiative to really understand how one of our state’s life bloods – the restaurant industry – works. They deserve our full support since they are the future advocates of our culture and we hope this recipe contest will really challenge them to put their generation’s twist on indigenous cuisine,” stated Vince Hayward, CEO of L.H. Hayward and Company, the internationally recognized packager of Camellia Brand dry beans, peas and lentils. “Louisiana restaurants have always supported Camellia Brand. With recent discussions surrounding a lack of skilled workers in the Louisiana restaurant industry, we wanted to do something to help improve the situation at its core.”

About LRAEF ProStart® Program

ProStart is a two-year, culinary management program for high school juniors and seniors with a curriculum designed to teach students culinary techniques as well as restaurant management skills. By brining industry and the classroom together, ProStart provides students a platform to discover new interests and talents, and opens doors for fulfilling careers. ProStart is in 50 high schools statewide and more than 1,500 students participate in the program. ProStart is a registered trademark of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

As the philanthropic foundation of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, the LRAEF exists to enhance our community through expanded educational career opportunities, the formation of strategic partnerships and the elevation of our professional standards and practices.