Holy Ghost Creole Festival in Opelousas, Louisiana Whether you're on small country roads or amongst the bustle of town, you can’t go anywhere in St. Landry Parish without seeing food. Travel along scenic byways and find soybean fields, rice bins, and a cascade of bright red crawfish traps bobbing on glistening ponds. Head into town and there’s no escaping the mass of specialty meat markets, boudin and cracklin stops, and eateries. So, what made this particular region of Southwest Louisiana a foodie’s paradise, populated with enough smokehouses and [...]

"St. Landry Parish, Louisiana is a place with Cajun spirit and Creole soul." Thumb through any St. Landry Parish phone book and you’ll see surnames that indicate a gumbo of ethnicities – French, Spanish, German, African, Irish, Native American and more, but many residents also celebrate their Cajun and Creole heritage. Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians, who were evicted from the region of Nova Scotia in the mid-1700s, after their continued refusal to swear allegiance to the British crown. Many of these Acadian exiles landed in south Louisiana, where [...]

March 11, 2018, nearly 500 music fans, locals, and Ardoin family members welcomed Amédé home. Bringing Amédé Home was a symbolic event honoring one of Louisiana’s most iconic musicians, Amédé Ardoin. The ceremony featured a candlelit Remembrance Vigil, a Bal du Dimanche après-midi (Sunday afternoon house dance), and the unveiling of the Amédé Ardoin Commemorative. “In the 1920s and ‘30s, Amédé crafted tunes that poured the foundation for Cajun music and zydeco… If you find a Cajun band that doesn’t know the Lacassine Special, make a citizen’s arrest. The only [...]

This tried and true recipe is one of our own. It calls for one of our favorite seasonings, local spice house, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, and comes with directions for making a homemade roux. Try it out, and let us know what you think! What is Gumbo? Gumbo is a dish that originated in southern Louisiana from the Louisiana Creole people during the 18th century. It typically consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, okra, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoning vegetables, which can include celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the [...]