Louisiana Film Studios teams up with Joel Dondis

The region’s largest film, music and digital media production complex is partnering with New Orleans’ largest off-site caterer. Chef Joel Dondis – who owns two New Orleans restaurants and the dessert shop Sucre – will feed both cast and crew at Louisiana Film Studios, a 525,000-square-foot production studio in Harahan. That’s an estimated 100 to 400 people per day, depending on the production. The company will also provide catering for productions on location outside the studios. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to be a part of the growing film industry in the Greater New Orleans region,” says Joel Catering President Sarah Hall. “By partnering with Louisiana Film Studios, we are instantly in the middle of the action. It is very exciting.” Hall, Dondis and Chef Evan Benson plan to visit studio commissaries in Los Angeles to learn about the industry and ensure a smooth opening. Although Louisiana Film Studios won’t finish construction until October 2009, productions are already using the facility, including Syvester Stallone’s The Expendables and the indie film Dead of Night, starring Brandon Routh. Joel Catering will move in at the end of May, with kitchen production moving in this fall once the commissary is complete.