BATON ROUGE, La. – Dining and music among the blooms and under the stars will be featured during Gourmet in the Garden: A Progressive Dinner in the Gardens at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden on April 25, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Jeff Kuehny, director of the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden, said if you love the scent of fragrant flowers while enjoying an outdoor fine dining experience unique to the Red Stick area, you’ll love Gourmet in the Garden.

This year’s event will feature 10 to 15 renowned, award-winning, local chefs from the area’s top restaurants preparing their specialties at three locations in the Botanic Gardens, Kuehny said.

The event benefits the Botanic Gardens and educational programs of the Louisiana Culinary Institute Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for Louisiana Culinary Institute students.

Competition for culinary student chefs, as well as a “people’s choice” tasting competition among the various professional chefs will be included, Kuehny said.

Hors d’ouevres will be served in the Orangerie garden with entrees served in the Orangerie. Dining will be in the Rose Garden, with dessert and dancing in the soon-to-be-completed pavilion, Kuehny said. Original cocktails by local mixologists will be among the offerings.

“In keeping with the event’s local theme, come enjoy local food by local restaurants and their chefs created with local vegetables, herbs and more,” Kuehny said.

Tickets are $60 per person in advance and include local beverages and live music. The cost is $70 per person at the door. Tickets are available online.

To become a restaurant participant, contact Chef Colt Patin at colt@lci.edu or 337-277-6745.

Music for the evening will be provided by local artists Jody James and Kirk Holder. Information on James and Holder can be found on their websites. For James, go to www.jodijamesmusic.com, and Holder is at www.kirkholder.com.

Business and support sponsorships for the event are available by contacting Gigi Gauthier at ggauthier@agcenter.lsu.edu or 225-763-3990 or Charlie Ruffalo at Charlie@louisianaculinary.com or (225) 769-8820.

More information is available at www.facebook.com/Gourmetinthegarden or by calling 225-763-3990.

Support for the event is provided by the Burden Horticulture Society.

The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden is located at 4560 Essen Lane at I-10.