Paula Deen comes out to to help Gulf fishermen

By MARY FOSTER (AP), The Associated Press - NEW ORLEANS — As the thick oil from the BP spill bubbles through the Gulf of Mexico, threatening sea life and wetlands, foodies are taking up knife, fork and wine glass to defend the equally vulnerable reputation of the coast's seafood industry.

The New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, an annual celebration of the city's love of all things tasty, is pairing wines from around the world with the cooking of some of the city's best chefs to help deliver the message:

Louisiana seafood is still safe, available and delicious.

"What's at stake is a whole way of life," said John Besh, a cookbook author and one of the city's most celebrated chefs.

"It's one of the richest ecosystems in the world. Anything that lives, swims, eats or breeds in the Gulf of Mexico starts out in the Louisiana wetlands," he said. "We need to protect it, and we need to let the world know it's still available."

The festival, which opens Wednesday, is a bit more tony than the recent Jazz and Heritage Festival or French Quarter Festival — organizers say they expect attendees in the $100,000-plus income bracket. It traditionally provides a tourism boost as New Orleans' begins its slide into summer, when visitors tend to avoid the city's heat and high humidity.

And in the true spirit of New Orleans — where death is celebrated with jazz funerals — attendees will acknowledge the sadness of the spill with a party.

"It's the same thing we found ourselves doing after Hurricane Katrina," said Joyce Godbold, executive director of the festival. "The New Orleans spirit can mourn and celebrate at the same time. We don't lose our appreciation of something just because it's in danger."