FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 12, 2026
GIANNA TO HOST HALLOWEEN LUNCH
Costumes, Cocktails and a Family-Style Feast Take Center Stage on Friday, October 30
NEW ORLEANS, LA — In New Orleans, Halloween is more than a holiday; it’s a beloved tradition, and few celebrations are more anticipated than a festive Friday-before-Halloween lunch. This year, Gianna is inviting guests to embrace the spirit of the season at its Halloween Lunch on Friday, October 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Guests are encouraged to conjure up their most creative costumes and gather their friends, family, and fellow Halloween enthusiasts for an afternoon of spirited dining and festive fun. The Halloween lunch will feature a three-course family-style prix fixe menu paired with a spooky welcome cocktail for $75 per person.
The menu includes a chopped salad, house meatballs, and wood-fired puccia bread with chili butter for the first course. The entrée course offersoven-roasted leg of lamb with confit fingerling potatoes, chicken cacciatore with Anson Mills polenta, and seasonal vegetables. Gianna Pastry Chef Maggie Scales will craft a special Halloween-inspired dessert.
“Halloween lunches are a cherished New Orleans tradition, and we’re excited to bring friends and families together on the Friday before Halloween,” said Mary Petty, Gianna’s General Manager. “Whether you’re continuing a favorite ritual or creating a new one, we look forward to celebrating with you.”
The Link Restaurant Group (LRG) includes Herbsaint Restaurant and Bar (Michelin Recommended); Cochon Restaurant (Michelin Bib Gourmand); Cochon Butcher (Michelin Bib Gourmand); Calcasieu, a private dining facility; Pêche (Michelin Recommended), named Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation; La Boulangerie, a neighborhood bakery and café, and Gianna, nominated for Best New Restaurant in America 2019 by the James Beard Foundation.
Link’s flagship restaurant, Herbsaint, earned Donald Link the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South in 2007. Cochon was nominated in 2007 by the James Beard Foundation for Best New Restaurant in America and was listed in The New York Times as “one of the top 3 restaurants that count.” Stephen Stryjewski, LRG chef/partner, was named Best Chef South at the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards, and Ryan Prewitt, chef/partner of Pêche, was named Best Chef South at the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards. Pêche chef de cuisine Nicole Mills was a semifinalist for Best Chef South at the 2025 James Beard Foundation Awards and was included in the 2024 class of Best New Chefs by Food & Wine.
The James Beard Foundation also honored Link’s first cookbook, Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana (Clarkson Potter), with its top award for Best American Cookbook. In 2014, Chef Link published his second cookbook, Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything (Clarkson Potter). In 2015, Chefs Link and Stryjewski created the Link Stryjewski Foundation to address the persistent cycle of violence and poverty, and the lack of quality education and job-training opportunities available to young people in New Orleans.
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