In the first Creole tomato auction since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, New Orleans restaurant group Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group (Bacco, Red Fish Grill, Ralph's on the Park) won the first batch of Creole tomatoes of the season, brought into the New Orleans French Market by A.J's Produce from a farmer in lower St. Bernard Parish.

Out of five chefs participating in the auction, Ralph Brennan Group won a 10-pound lot of 18 tomatoes, which was used in a Creole Tomato, Grilled Vidalia and Crawfish Saffron Salsa dish at the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting on May 22. The restaurant group paid $1,800 for the tomatoes, which went directly to Children's Hospital as a donation. This auction reinstates a decades-long tradition of benefiting Children's Hospital, which was discontinued after Katrina.