Renee Verner hopes this past Saturday is the one and only time a tornado warning sends her hurrying to shelter in the middle of prepping to feed several hundred people. It makes for just a little too much excitement.

Verner, Zachary’s catering manager, was among those serving a New Orleans-style feast when sirens sent everyone to the lower level of Trotter Convention Center as the annual Columbus Arts Council gala was getting underway Feb. 23.

“I just put my lids on (the dishes) and everybody went downstairs,” Verner said. As soon as possible, though, she Zachary’s Catering Chef Steven Robertson — along with Lion Hills Center’s Chef Matt Molina and Sous Chef Andy Cagle — returned to the convention center kitchen to get right back to work. The fact that the building had lost power didn’t throw them off their game.

Zachary’s prepared the savory side of the evening’s fare. Lion Hills created sumptuous desserts that celebrate Carnival.

Louisiana is in the throes of Mardi Gras. Parades began in early January, even though Fat Tuesday doesn’t officially arrive until March 5. There were 11 parades this past Saturday alone in and around New Orleans, according to the mardigrasneworleans.com schedule. That party city is thought of as the epicenter of all things Mardi Gras, but Alabamians will proudly tell you Mobile’s is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in the country. It was started by a Frenchman in 1703, when Mobile was the capital of French Louisiana — 15 years before the founding of New Orleans.

For supper, “We served chicken and sausage gumbo, crawfish linguine, red beans and rice, Caesar salad, assorted fruit trays and vegetable trays,” said Callie Steenstra, a manager at Zachary’s.

Lion Hills’ dessert table decked out in purple, gold and green showcased a tower of Carnival season’s signature sweet — king cakes, made by Pastry Chef Eliana Olivera, assisted by Lion Hills culinary students. They prepared 26 in all.

“We also served strawberry bread pudding bites. and chocolate bread pudding bites with chocolate ganache drizzle on top,” said Molina. “When they said they wanted a Mardi Gras theme, what personifies that better than king cake and bread puddings?”

In spite of the unexpected loss of power as the evening began, everyone rallied to pull off the event with emergency lighting and candlelight.

“Everybody just worked together,” Molina said. “Even guests were volunteering to see what was needed. It was all going to a good cause and people were dressed to the nines. Everybody still was very positive.”

Columbus Arts Council gala volunteer Karen Arzamendi praised the caterers’ dedication.

“Everybody could have gone home and taken cover for themselves, but they were real troopers,” she said. “The food was delicious, it was hot, and there was plenty of it,” she said. “There wasn’t anything we could do about the weather, and we were all safe and already there, and knew we needed to just make this thing go.”

Mother Nature threw a curveball into this event that was months in the planning, but the unflappable spirit of culinary staff from Zachary’s and Lion Hills ensured tables were filled with a Mardi Gras repast in spite of it. It’s similar to the spirit we’re seeing each day as people pull together to heal storm-hit neighborhoods. The good times will roll again.

Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.