Session 1: Fermented Vegetables
Join us with Chef Robert Kennedy and Aurore Ballengée for The Art of Fermentation, a workshop series exploring fermentation traditions from around the world.
Fermentation is one of the oldest and most powerful ways to transform food, preserving harvests, enhancing flavor, and supporting health. Fermented foods are often called “living” foods because they contain active cultures of beneficial microorganisms that continue to transform flavor and support your physical and mental health.
For this first session, we will focus on fermented vegetables such as pickles, sauerkraut, kimchis, curtido, and more.
🥬 🥕🥒 FREE EVENT. REGISTRATION REQUIRED AT 🥒🥕🥬
About the Series
Each session in The Art of Fermentation focuses on a different category of fermented foods, drawing from traditions across the globe:
• May 2026 – Fermented Vegetables (pickles, sauerkraut, kimchis, curtido)
• August 2026 – Fermented Breads (sourdough, injera, dosa)
• November 2026 – Fermented Dairy (yogurt, kefir, crème fraîche, butter, buttermilk)
• March 2027 – Fermented Sauces (vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, mushroom-based sauces, hot sauce)
• May 2027 – Fermented proteins (beans, tempeh)
• August 2027 –Fermented Drinks (kombucha, ginger beer, root beer, sodas, mead)
Join one session or follow the full series to explore fermentation traditions from around the world.
About Chef Robert Kennedy
Chef Robert Kennedy’s culinary journey began in childhood, inspired by his grandmothers’ farm-style cooking and his father’s award-winning jambalaya. At age eight, he was captivated by Julia Child and Jacques Pépin on PBS and set his sights on becoming a chef. After working his way up from fast food to line cook as a teenager, Robert gained experience in renowned Louisiana kitchens including Juban’s, Mansur’s, and Louie’s Café. A chance opportunity led him to a sous chef position in Seattle before he returned to Baton Rouge, earned a degree in Educational Psychology at LSU, and eventually reentered the food world as a cheese specialist and later as Pastry Chef at City Club at River Ranch. He helped open Social Southern Table & Bar and later served as Pastry Chef at both Social and Charley G’s, contributing to Lafayette’s dining scene for over seven years. After a long and varied career, health challenges led him to take early retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Aurore Ballengée
Aurore Ballengée, a French native, took a major shift in 2012 when she left a career as a project manager in investment banking to become a culinary educator focused on sustainable food and food sovereignty. Aurore has given educational food programs at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), Natural History Museum Utah (Salt lake City, UT), McColl Center for Art + Innovation (Charlotte, NC), Sculpture in the Wild (Lincoln, MT), The Point CDC (Bronx, NY), The Sanctuary for Independent Media (Troy, NY) and others. From 2018 to 2025, Aurore served on the board of the Acadiana Food. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Atelier de la Nature.