It  never made any sense to me that conference and convention attendees to New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center  - all of these captive potential ambassadors for the country's most distinctive food culture  - were being fed junk like flabby turkey sandwiches on gummy white bread, generic pasta Alfredo, baked chicken and rice pilaf, pre-processed hamburgers, pasta and meat sauce. Ugh. What the Hell? These poor people were ushered into the very representative center of the most exciting, hospitable, food-obsessed place most of them will ever visit and we were feeding them the kind of crap they could pull off of a nursing home cafeteria line anywhere from Seattle to Pensacola.

To say  that Susan and I recently went to a "tasting" for a "new menu" at the convention center with low expectations would be a dramatic understatement. The phrases "pack a picnic" and "stomach pump" may have been used as we parked the car.

When I saw Donald Link lingering around the food court I figured he was grabbing a cup of bad coffee on his way to address some group of conventioneers. When he told me he had created the new menu for the convention center I figured his contribution would be limited to something like a designer hot dog with a wicked price tag. You know, one of those deals where a celebrity puts their name on something but doesn't really do anything.

Sorry for assuming this, Donald. I was so wrong.

When Centerplate - which prides itself on delivering  “Craveable Experiences and Raveable Results,” to a collection of sports, entertainment and convention venues across North America -  took over the center's hospitality contract they brought The Donald in to ensure that they did it right.  “Creating ‘restaurant real’ hospitality in one of the country's largest convention centers, in one of the world's greatest food cities is a tall order,” said John Sergi, Centerplate’s Chief Design Officer. “First, ‘real’ starts at the loading dock, you have to buy local. Second, you have to handle the product with local sensibilities. To do this, we turned to Donald link to join us and work with our chef to connect to the local supply chain and approach our recipes with authenticity.”

The impact this will have on some of the smaller businesses contracted to provide goods to the massive convention center will change the trajectories of those businesses. This is HUGE for a small business.

On the day we lunched at the convention center (there is still a sense of disbelief) five new concepts featuring items made with local andseasonal ingredients from Louisiana purveyors were unveiled throughout the sprawling 3.1 million square foot complex via a mobile cart program, in-hall concessions, and three food courts. The Greenmarket area featured a variety of freshly made salads that will rotate seasonally as well as menu mainstays such as Muffulettas and Shrimp Remoulade. A po-boy station featured Gulf shrimp from Louisiana Fish and Seafood, Zatarain’s Creole Mustard, roast beef from Chisesi Bros., bread from Dong Phuong Vietnamese Bakery in Gretna, and a zesty homemade cole slaw made with produce from Capitol City.

Instead of generic pasta dishes visitors can now select from Red Beans and Rice, Gumbo, Crawfish Étouffée and Alligator Sauce Picante, all of which are made fresh each day by Poche’s in Breaux Bridge. In my world Poche's is a sort of Mecca. Now I can have their gumbo at the convention center down the street.Donald Link's signature station, Links & Dogs, had a selection of hot dogs and sausage rolls the chef created specifically for visitors to the center. Like the roast beef, the sausage for the 'dogs and the sausage rolls was made by Chisesi Brothers in Jefferson using all-natural casings and Link's own recipe. Hot dogs  were topped with homemade sauerkraut and/or black-eyed pea chili and served on bread from La Louisiane in River Ridge. The sausage roll was served on bread from Dong Phuong. The Bakery area featured bagels, croissants, muffins, cookies and Link’s signature gooey grilled cheese. All of the baked goods are supplied daily by Laurel Street Bakery, a tiny shop located Uptown. I'll bet their ovens are now cranking 24 hours a day to fulfill those orders.

These are alliances we can all be proud of. This makes Louisiana in general and New Orleans in particular look good. It makes our convention center an easier sell for meetings, which directly benefits our economy, which directly benefits us.

“We wanted to give our visitors a taste of what Louisiana has to offer, while at the same time providing revenue and recurring business for our local companies,” Link said. “Buying local and supporting community is not always the easiest or cheapest way for large scale food service, but we are  approaching this task with a commitment to the idea of providing food made right here in Louisiana by designing menus that give people a great sampling of favorite Louisiana and New Orleans dishes utilizing local products wherever we can.”

Enjoy this recipe for Donald Link's Macaroni and Tasso Salad. It is easy and more than worthy of a place on your table.