Beignet Fest announces 2025 Best Beignet winners 

Written By Alicia Vial

Southerns swept the crowd vote winning both sweet and savory categories

NEW ORLEANS –The eighth annual Beignet Fest took place this past Saturday at the City Park Festival Grounds where attendees were able to taste 40 different types of beignets from more than 20 vendors and vote for their favorites in three categories – sweet, savory and traditional.

Marking their first year participating in Beignet Fest, Southerns was selected as the crowd favorite for the Best Sweet Beignet with their Crème Brûlée Beignet and Best Savory Beignet with their Spicy Chicken Beignet. Café Beignet was voted Best Traditional Beignet.

"At Beignet Fest, beignets take center stage as our incredible food vendors create outstanding twists on New Orleans’ most beloved treat," said Sherwood Collins, co-founder and executive director of Beignet Fest and the Beignet Fest Foundation. "I am always blown away by the array of imaginative beignets our fest attendees get to experience all in one place, for one delicious day."

A celebrity panel of judges including Tamela Gill Davis, Malik Mingo, Eating NOLA, Tam Loves to Eat, Aint that Phancy and two contest winners awarded the Judge’s Choice to Loretta’s Authentic Pralines’ Praline Beignet. Loretta’s has been a staple of the Beignet Fest since it began in 2016 winning Best Savory and Judges Choice for its Crabmeat Beignet in the past. This was the first year that the Praline Beignet received the Judges Choice.

Thanks to generous support from the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation, Beignet Fest brought a full lineup of local talent, headlined by Marc Broussard and the legendary Rebirth Brass Band. Other musical performances included the Imagination Movers, Jeffrey “Jellybean” Alexander presents KINDRED and the Prism Project.

Beignet Fest was supported by leading sponsors PJ’s Coffee, Abita Beer, The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com, Gambel Communications and other local businesses.

Proceeds from Beignet Fest benefit the Beignet Fest Foundation with a mission to celebrate, embrace and empower the lives of children with autism and their families. To learn more about the Beignet Fest Foundation, visit beignetfest.com.

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About Beignet Fest:
Beignet Fest is a premier food festival in Louisiana that celebrates one of New Orleans’s most iconic dishes all in one place on one day. Proceeds from the event benefit the Beignet Fest Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization established to raise awareness and support for programs in Greater New Orleans that serve autistic youth and their families.

Recent Beignet Fest recognition includes:

·        Garden & Gun - Top Southern Fall Food Festival List 2024 and 2023

·        New Orleans Magazine - Tops of the Town Voter Poll Honoree 2023

·        Southern Living - Best Food Festivals in the South 2023

·        Tasting Table - 21 Bucket List Food Festivals 2023

 

Alicia Vial

Alicia Vial is a New Orleans native with more than a decade of experience elevating client stories and leading crisis response. As the senior director of strategy, Alicia acts as a leader within the Gambel Communications team ensuring each agency team member is positioned to deliver strategic public relations services that meet the highest standards of the industry. In addition to supporting the agency’s long-term business growth and development, she coordinates day-to-day account services and oversees strategic direction while staying abreast of best practices and industry trends to provide innovative solutions to meet client’s needs.

Before joining Gambel Communications, Alicia served as the communications director for the Louisiana SPCA, the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Louisiana that impacts more than 74,000 animals per year. During her nearly eight-year tenure, Alicia oversaw numerous crises, served on national communication taskforces, oversaw all aspects of internal and external relations and worked alongside the development department to raise critical funding. Prior to that, she worked in the fast-paced New Orleans hospitality industry focusing on digital public relations for multiple hotels.

Alicia is a member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), a board member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Orleans Chapter and a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. An accredited public relations practitioner (APR), Alicia is also certified in crisis communications, organizational leadership, content marketing and social media.

A well respected and trusted public relations practitioner, Alicia has been recognized by SPRF as a ‘Senior Practitioner of the Year’. Dubbed early on in her career as one to watch, she also received the ‘Rising Star’ award by PRAL and was profiled in St. Charles Avenue Magazine as part of their Young Bloods series. Most recently, she was recognized at PRSA’s annual Fleurish Awards and received four Awards of Excellence for her work along with the ‘Plate Spinner’ award for her efforts on the board of directors for the chapter.

An LSU graduate, Alicia received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations and minors in business administration and leadership development. She is a frequent speaker and presenter on public relations topics, most recently presenting at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission and SPRF annual conference.

When Alicia is not at work, you can find her at the ballpark with her three boys or cheering on the Tigers in Death Valley.

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