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Whether you are local to the Acadiana area or just a fan of good Cajun food, it is noticeable that Cajun style food is evolving while still holding its famous core flavors.
“Cajun food doesn’t have to be just brown stuff on rice anymore,” Logan Clothier, a local Lafayette caterer says. Local farmers, caterers and chefs are taking their own family-style, traditional Cajun recipes and adding in more fresh, flavorful ingredients. At both festivalsand restaurants, there is innovation in Cajun- style cuisine, and it is an honor to say that a lotof it is happening here in 337.
When you think of eating around Lafayette, the first things that come to mind are rice and gravy, gumbo, po-boys and boudin. For many, these bring feelings of happiness, and if you ask almost any Lafayette local, they will share a story of making one of these traditional dishes with family or a close group of friends. Almost as impactful as the flavors, community is what makes Cajun-cuisine so powerful. It all starts with someone who loves to cook, which is in perfect character of Kelsey Sanders, the owner of a local food delivery service, Eat Fuel Fleurish.
Like many Louisiana natives, Sanders grew
up learning to cook Cajun, Louisiana-style food. After starting her career in food, sherealized that there was a way to keep the depth of flavor, while replacing common ingredients with fresher, more nutritious ingredients. Some ingredient alternatives she uses are high quality oils, almond flours, and cauliflower grits
Sanders is all about taking traditional dishes and trying to make something new. With society’s daily routines becoming as busy as they are, her business offers flavorful, spunky dishes to her clients that become a convenient part of their lifestyle.
A fan-favorite is her crawfish pie with a creamy seafood sauce. She keeps the traditional, flakey crust of a Louisiana meat pie, stuffs it with crawfish filling, then smothers it with a rich, seafood sauce. In her words,
“It starts with an idea, and with creativity you just have to run with it.”
In line with many chefs in Acadiana, Sanders is taking the traditions of Louisiana food and transforming
it into dishes that benefit both the body and soul.
Another way that there is innovation within Cajun cuisine is by putting a Cajun twist on other popular dishes. What does a Cajun poutine dish look like? If your guess is just like the popular Canadian dish, but with a little Cajun seasoning, think again. Local caterer and food connoisseur, Logan Clothier, takes a classic meatball stew, a family tradition, and uses it on French fries as a contemporary spin on poutine.
The stew looks like a glaze, coating the French fries, and pops of green onion and peppers stand out as toppings. Served out of his catering trailer, a frequent customer of his took a bite and says, “I think this is some of the best food I’ve ever had.” To make this dish, Clothier makes
The stew looks like a glaze, coating the French fries, and pops of green onion and peppers stand out as toppings. Served out of his catering trailer, a frequent customer of his took a bite and says, “I think this is some of the best food I’ve ever had.” To make this dish, Clothier makes
The stew looks like a glaze, coating the French fries, and pops of green onion and peppers stand out as toppings. Served out of his catering trailer, a frequent customer of his took a bite and says, “I think this is some of the best food I’ve ever had.” To make this dish, Clothier makes a roux that he cooks almost all day, and he knew it was perfect when it looked like molasses. The toppings are the trinity and meatballs.
Clothier’s talents as a cook are influenced by his Cajun grandmother, who cooks traditionally, and his father, influenced by a commercial cooking style. This blend of tradition and uniformity has shaped his cooking style. Clothier believes that the key to a flavorful dish is fresh, hand chopped veggies and peppers, so that you are getting flavors from fresh Ingredients, which enhances adish more than a store-bought seasoning mix.
To achieve the freshness and flavor, the key is to find the perfect local produce. Where dothese ingredients come from? The second most influential element of Cajun culture, after cuisine, is community. Much of Acadiana’s true culture stems from the rural outskirts of Lafayette or small quaint neighborhoods, where being friendly and having neighbors to share with is a part of everyday life.
Farmer and nonprofit owner, Colton Campitelli, is encouraging chefs and home cooks alike
to grow some of these key ingredients in Cajun cuisine
and share with their friends and family.
Colton says,
“If I can expand the options for traditional Cajun chefs tointroduce new flflavors in a familiar way, my hope is to encourage everyone to explore alternative options on how they can flflavor dishes that have been in their family for generations.”
His goal is to maintain the ritual of Cajun-style cooking but reinvent the way traditional produce is used and inspire sustainability within Acadiana. Food lovers and fan’s of an all around good time will find but the growth of Colton Campitelli’s Abbey’s Acres and the Gravy-o-Head Food Truck at Gator Cove most Thursday’s- Saturday’s.
While holding onto its traditional flavors and values, Cajun cuisine is transforming to be more innovative through flavors and sustainability factors. Like a local caterer said, Cajun food is not the same thing over and over again. It is vibrant, colorful, local, and nutritious. We have these locals to thank for the creativity that surrounds the delicious meals you cannot get anywhere else. In an area that is full of culture and amazing chefs, a cooking style that is a common love language is now evolving for the modern Cajun.
Written By: Katie Anderson
