Chef Loomis , a hunter-gatherer , finds passion in wild game cooking
Natchez chef Tori Loomis has a passion for hunting and gathering the food she cooks whether it is sautéed frog legs , venison pizza , roasted wild duck with a bourbon fig glaze or stuffed , smoked alligator .
A food blogger and wild game chef , Loomis shares her cooking experiences with others on her popular Instagram site and blog , “ The Gatherin ’ Girl ,” where she promotes a reverence for the natural world and an appreciation of food that makes its way from the field to the table . She will share one of her delectable dishes with local residents as the headline chef of this year ’ s Sipp & Savor .
“ It is mind blowing to me ,” Loomis said of being asked to headline this year ’ s festival . “ I ’ ve looked at the people and the caliber of chefs that are going to be there , and it is such an honor to be at a festival next to so many of them .”
The MAX ’ s festival producer Elizabeth Williams , who searches social media and scouts out other food festivals for popular chefs , said she has full confidence in Loomis ’ ability to delight attendees with her cooking .
“ She is a hunter-gatherer , and her food is incredible ,” Williams said . “ She cooked at an event for us back in August , and I could not get over her short ribs or her carrots . She did these rainbow carrots in this yogurt sauce . It was unbelievable . People were raving about the carrots just as much as they were the short ribs .”
An avid outdoors person and nature enthusiast , Loomis grew up across the river from Natchez in the Louisiana Delta ’ s Concordia Parish . She inherited her passion for cooking from her father , an investigator for the district attorney ’ s office and a culinary enthusiast , following in his footsteps around the kitchen when she was a child .
“ My dad is kind of where I get a lot of my love for cooking from ,” Loomis said . “ He was always cooking . Every weekend there was some kind of gathering , and he did barbecue cook offs and different cooking competitions .”
She picked up on his enthusiasm for food and preparing dishes , which eventually took her to the Louisiana Culinary Institute , where she graduated in baking and pastry . She went on to work in kitchens
Story by Glenda Sanders
in the Natchez area and a short stint as the executive chef at one of the largest hunting lodges in Louisiana , before deciding it was important to her to really know where the food she was preparing comes from and how it gets to the table . So , she started hunting her own meat , catching her own fish and growing her own vegetables .
“ I want to put my focus in kind of developing my own thing and being passionate about wild game in particular and home grown foods ,” Loomis said .
While she grew up in a family of hunters , Loomis did not start hunting herself until she was in her 20s , and she quickly developed a penchant for wild game hunting .
Working as a private chef , she spends much of hunting season booked at hunting lodges and ranches , then caters individuals parties and dinners the rest of the year .
“ During hunting season , I contract out jobs with different hunting lodges and ranches or just individuals looking for a chef , so usually between October and early February , people have booked me ,” Loomis said . “ I spent a month in Oklahoma last year , and then I spent three months in Lafitte , La ., at the oldest duck hunting lodge in Louisiana . … I do private dinners , and we are coming into festival season , too .”
Photo courtesy of Aaron Davis
Loomis , who has nearly 14,000 Tori Loomis will be the headline followers on Instagram and a sponsorship with Beretta , already has an chef at Sipp & Savor on April 6 . idea of what she will be cooking for
Sipp & Savor .
“ I ’ m actually going to be cooking a smoked duck gumbo for the festival ,” she said . “ I just won a competition with that in Breuxbridge , Lousiana .”
The festival was the Louisiana Pipeliners Association Gumbo Cook Off , held in early February . The event has grown into a friendly , competitive competition to choose the best Louisiana gumbo , all for the good cause of raising money for scholarships . Loomis ’ smoked duck gumbo beat out all of the other chefs to win top honors .
“ I didn ’ t know how big of a deal it was , and I had people reaching out to me after they saw that I won to say , ‘ that ’ s a huge deal . I can ’ t believe you won that thing ,’” she said . “ I even left early thinking I am not going to come down to these people ’ s stomping grounds and beat them with gumbo .” M www . meridianstar . com
• 7