He may be an admitted meat-lover, but Troy Brocato still managed to take the prize at the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival’s Vegan Gumbo Contest this year.

Photo by Laura DeFasio

He was one of 10 participating vendors, each of whom answered the challenge with a recipe that was delicious, creative, and totally unique.

After forfeiting a lifetime or so to the resolutely interminable food lines (luckily the weather was perfect), attendees could sample, compare, and vote on the offerings of this meatless, dairy-free smorgasbord through the purchase of $3 tasting portions.

Brocato’s latest restaurant venture, Brocato’s Po-Boy and Catering in Metairie, opened this summer to a warm welcome from those craving the comforting flavors of the Cajun countryside, flavors which their vegan gumbo has in spades despite missing a few ingredients that might seem irreplaceable to the uninitiated.

“I’m not a vegetarian or anything,” Brocato said “I make it just like I make my regular gumbo but with portobello and tofu instead of andouille and chicken.”

Brocato’s winning dish, an okra-based gumbo, uses vegetable stock and roux as its base.

“Portobello’s meaty, especially when you smoke it, and I cook up the tofu and add it in at the end,” he said. “The way it cooks up, you’d think it was chicken breast.”

Whatever the ingredients, the crowd was definitely in line with the verdict.

Brocato and his team were still receiving last minute orders long after the Soul Rebels had quit the stage Sunday night and the other vendors were packing up and heading out.