PRALINE BACON.
Now that we have your attention, how would you like to try something a little bit different Tuesday night? You’ll even get to eat the praline bacon. In a one-off event, the kids behind the Fringe Food Festival are collaborating with My Mexican Cousin to present a crash course in Creole cuisine, where you can have your gumbo and eat it too.

Meet your host for the evening, BurgerMary. She spends a few months in the south each year. She knows how to pronounce New Orleans. She knows how to spell “Mississippi”. And she knows more about Creole chow than anyone in Melbourne.

That’s why recently opened restaurant My Mexican Cousin hired her as their Creole consultant. Although there’s apparently a direct correlation between the number of drinks BurgerMary consumes and her southern accent, she’ll do her very best to walk y’all through each dish’s heritage on the night.

So what’s with the Creole craze? Aside from the rich French influence in the food, most recipes are handed down from one generation to the next. BurgerMary reckons you can taste the passion as a result. Then there’s “the discretional use of a deep fryer,” which is always a bonus.

As well as praline bacon, expect to scoff a pulled pork and cornbread skillet and to binge on beignet (Louisiana donuts) with salted caramel dipping sauce. All up, there will be eight dishes served. Most are entirely novel to the Melbourne food scene. “Plus there are two desserts,” says BurgerMary, “I don’t think you need more of an excuse than that.”

But it’s not just about gorging yourself on the robust flavours of southern comfort food; it’s also about expanding your cultural knowledge… and most likely having a few too many. Hurry, this event is almost sold out.

Where: Melbourne Recital Centre, 31 Sturt Street, Southbank
When: 7pm, 17 Jan
Tickets: trybooking.com/19019
Details: fringefoodfestival.com.au