Acadiana Profile October-November 2013 by Renaissance Publishing

In Every Issue 4 Free-lancing Top 20 Stories in Acadiana Profile (1975-2010)

table des matières

Celebrating 45 years by trent angers

6 Nouvelles des Villes News Briefs From Around Acadiana

by william kalec

10 De la Cuisine Pecan Treats

by marcelle bienvenu

16 Les Artistes Message in the Method

Lafayette-based artist Amy Guidry draws up a decades-old conceptual approach to address important issues in the here and now. by william kalec

22 La Maison Rooms with a View

A “stay-cation” residence in Lake Charles by lisa leblanc-berry

58 Personnes d’Acadiana The Road to Provisions

16 14

An unlikely pair of start-up business partners, Manny Augello and Abi Broussard have big plans for their tiny, flavorful jars of condiments. by william kalec

60 Sur le Menu Oven Fresh

These bakeries are the bread and butter of Acadiana. by jan risher

70 Visiter The Best Things to See and Do

in Cajun Country compiled by judi russell

72 En Français, S’il Vous Plaît Qu’est-ce qu’un Créole?

by david cheramie

Features 30 Chefs Making Culinary Waves Buying local and serving with the seasons

by cheré coen

36 East Texas Take a walk on the wild side. by paris permenter and john bigley 38 Catching Fish in the Dead Zone Where science and business intermingle by john n. felsher 42 The Yearn to Learn A look at some of the region's private schools

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compiled by elizabeth rose

October/November 2013 Vol. 32 No. 5 Executive Editor Trent Angers Managing Editor Sarah Ravits Art Director Sarah George Associate Editors Haley Adams, Lauren LaBorde Intern Paige Nulty Sales Manager Rebecca Taylor (337) 298-4424 â&#x20AC;˘ (337) 235-7919 ext. 230 Rebecca@acadianaprofile.com Sales Assistant Erin Maher Azar Distribution/Newsstand Manager Christian Coombs Executive Assistant Kristi Ferrante Subscriptions Erin Duhe Production/Web Manager Staci McCarty Production Designer Antoine Passelac Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne President Alan Campell Executive Vice President/Editor in Chief Errol Laborde

Renaissance Publishing LLC 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 â&#x20AC;˘ (877) 221-3512 315 S. College Road, Suite 160, Lafayette, LA 70503 (337) 235-7919 Acadiana Profile (ISSN 0001-4397) is published bimonthly by Renaissance Publishing LLC, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 and 315 S. College Road, Suite 160, Lafayette, LA 70503 (337) 235-7919. Subscription rate: One year $10; Foreign Subscriptions vary. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Acadiana Profile, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2013 Renaissance Publishing LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Acadiana Profile is registered. Acadiana Profile is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Acadiana Profile are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner.

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

freelancing

by trent angers

Top 20 Stories in Acadiana Profile (1975-2010) What a flood of memories! In preparing to write this column as my fifth installment in conjunction with the 45th anniversary of Acadiana Profile, I began going through past issues of the magazine. My goal was to survey the issues published during my tenure as editor and publisher (1975-2010), then identify what I felt were the top 10 most interesting stories. At the outset, I imagined it would be a simple, straightforward task. But I was mistaken. I couldn’t just survey the material; I found myself stopping and reading, and reminiscing and savoring what I was seeing. My life flashed before my eyes as I made my way through the back issues. That’s because for most of my adult life, I ran this magazine. It was more than just a job; it’s who I was. One of my constant and dominant thoughts during these 35 years was to put out a high-quality magazine with really interesting stories – to be the Reader’s Digest of South Louisiana. Many of these articles aren’t merely about the people, places and things of Acadiana; they’re about the very fabric of life here, about the heart and soul of our part of the country. In going through our archives I rediscovered so many interesting stories that I was unable to hold this column to just the Top 10. So, I divided the material into two groups of 10. The first group, penned by a wide variety of writers, is presented in this column. I’ve added the date of publication plus the volume and number, in case anyone would like to look up these articles and read them in their entirety. (Try your local library, and if you can’t find these issues drop me a line, and I’ll mail you a photocopy of an article or two.) “The Past Life Memories of James Leininger” (December 2004, 24/3) By Wes Milligan This 6-year-old Lafayette boy was having recurring nightmares about being shot down and crashing his fighter plane off the

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Japanese coast in World War II. He recalled the tragic event in great detail. But the amazing thing is that he wasn’t born until 53 years after the war. Could he have been the reincarnation of fighter pilot James Huston Jr.? “The Enchanted World of Mary Alice Fontenot” (October 2003, 23/2) By Julie Fontenot Landry (Mary Alice's daughter) Mary Alice was surely one of Louisiana’s best-known and -loved authors of children’s books. The characters she created – especially Clovis Crawfish – live on in the hearts and imaginations of many, many children. Among the most prolific writers in Louisiana history, her career as a journalist and book author spanned more than half a century as she informed and entertained three generations of readers, young and old alike. “The Ghosts of Vietnam” (June 2003, 22/6) By Joan T. Broussard (widow of Brad Broussard) Giving one’s life for one’s country doesn’t necessarily mean being killed on the battlefield. For 30 years, Brad Broussard suffered with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from his tour of duty in Vietnam. He found peace and reconciliation in the last months of his life, thanks in part to his friend, Fr. Louis Lam Vu, pastor of St. Anne’s Church in Youngsville. Fr. Vu was a seminarian in Saigon in 1975 and barely escaped with his life shortly before the city fell to the enemy. “Trapped by Hurricane Audrey” (September/October 1997, 18/4) By Brent Broussard In June of 1957, Stephen and Florence Broussard of Pecan Island decided to wait a while before fleeing with their children from Hurricane Audrey. It seemed to them that the storm was headed for the nearby Texas coast. They guessed wrong. (The story’s author was 9 years old at the time of the hurricane.)

The Tunica Triumph (September/October 1995, 17/1) By Jefferson Hennessy Earl Barbry, chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Indians of Marksville, was among the leaders in the heroic battle to have the “Tunica Treasure” returned to its rightful owners, the Tunica. The treasure – consisting of some 200,000 artifacts that were buried along with deceased Tunica people, mostly in the 1700s – was dug up in the late 1960s by a Bunkie man who had it shipped to the Peabody Museum in Boston in an attempt to sell it. Many of these grave goods are on display today at the Tunica-Biloxi Museum in Marksville. The Treasures of Avery Island (4th Quarter 1990, 14/4) By Diane Moore One of Louisiana’s leading tourist attractions, Avery Island is home of the Tabasco factory that turns out the world-famous Tabasco brand pepper sauce; the exotic Jungle Gardens, with its azaleas, camellias, moss-draped oaks, white-tailed deer, nutria and alligators; and “Bird City” sanctuary with flocks of snowy egrets, herons, ducks and geese. “Who Really Killed Huey Long?” (First Quarter 1985, 11/6) By Ed Reed If Carl Weiss supposedly shot Huey Long with a .32-calibre pistol, why did the “official” investigation cover up the fact that a .38 slug was found in the body? And why wasn’t an autopsy allowed? “God Bless The Illiterate Man Who Taught Me To Read” (July/ August 1999, 19/6) By Pierre V. Daigle In December of 1934, in the depth of the Depression, the author asked his grandpa, Polus Doucet, for $4 to buy a dictionary. The request was granted, The Universal Dictionary of the English Language was bought as a Christmas present via mail order from Chicago, and young Pierre became not only a reader but also a writer and a teacher. “My Most Unforgettable Character” (First Quarter 1994, 16/1; originally published in Reader’s Digest, November 1970) By George Veazey Ulysse Veazey of Pecan Island, whose son wrote this article, was a giant of a man who built a two-story house with his own hands and provided for a family of 20 (including 11 children of his own and 7 in-laws he had taken upon himself to raise). Though he was illiterate, he taught his children the value of an education as the ticket to a better life. “Life After Hurricane Rita” (March/April 2008, 27/4) By William Kalec Residents of the forgotten town of Cameron struggled as they rebuilt their community after it was flattened by Hurricane Rita in September 2005. The hope, faith and resiliency of its citizens were evident, though the destruction MAGAZIN ILE E CE OF was nearly unimaginable. (Hurricane R Rita hit only a few weeks after the more notorious Hurricane Katrina.) To be continued… Coming next: The rest of the Top 20 ap articles P

ACADIA NA

G ATIN BR LE

sur le web

If you can’t get enough Acadiana Profile, check out our redesigned website. With our new look, everything is easier to read on your smartphone or tablet. Flip through the issue archive, renew your subscription, or read the English translation of En Français, S’il Vous Plaît. You will also find content from all of Renaissance Publishing’s publications, including Louisiana Life and New Orleans Magazine. You can find it at AcadianaProfile.com.

For up-to-the-minute information about Acadiana events, recipes and fun photos, make sure to like Acadiana Profile on Facebook and follow @AcadianaProfile on Twitter.

Attention Festival-Planners! Help Us Promote Your Event! Go online to AcadianaProfile.com, and click on “Submit an Event to Acadiana Profile” to let us know about festivals, shows or special events coming up in your town. Remember, the sooner we get the information, the better able we are to help you.

Want to contact the Acadiana Profile staff by email? Want to see one of your events on Acadiana Profile’s Facebook page? Send feedback to Managing Editor Sarah Ravits at sarah@acadianaprofile.com.

questions or comments about this column can be addressed to tcangers @ cox . net . www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

nouvelles des villes

by william kalec

Zeus Café Opens Crowley Franchise CROWLEY – Local restaurateur Nidal Balbeisi figures if the good people in Lafayette and Lake Charles gobbled up the then-foreign concept of quick, affordable Mediterranean and Greek cuisine, why not try a location between the two? Balbeisi’s popular Zeus franchise recently opened its newest location on 512 N. Parkerson in Crowley, offering full dining for lunch all week and full dining for dinner Monday through Saturday. This addition plants another flag in Balbeisi’s budding dine-in Zeus empire. Other sit-down locations include spots in Lafayette’s Oil Center, downtown on Jefferson Street, along the busy Ambassador Caffery stretch, the aforementioned Lake Charles restaurant and now the Crowley location. Zeus also has four express locations in Lafayette (ULL, River Ranch, Pinhook and Johnston), one in Carencro and one in Youngsville. For exact addresses, menus and hours of operation, visit www.zeuscafe.com

Arnaudville's Biere Pale Named as Top 10 Southern Beer To Look Out For ARNAUDVILLE – Sure, the magazine’s subject matter might be a little different, but that didn’t damper the mood at Bayou Teche 6

Brewery when Garden & Gun named the Knott brothers’ LA-31 Bière Pâle as one of the “Top 10 Southern Beers to Look Out For.” Bayou Teche was the only Louisiana-based brewery to make the list. “Bready and smooth like fresh-from-the-oven biscuits and balanced with a slight grassy bitterness, this beer is made to complement the flavors of classic Louisiana dishes like jambalaya or red beans and rice,” the magazine reported. Bayou Teche’s Bière Pâle came on the market in 2010 and was the then-blossoming brewery’s first commercial beer. Described by its creator

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as a “bronze-colored (beer)

has 4,000 square feet of

with a biscuity malt center,

floor space and features

herbal hop flavors and a

an auditorium, conference

gentle, mellow bitterness,”

rooms and classrooms for

Bière Pâle’s taste was designed

the Lafourche Parish Head

to complement the unique

Start program. Kids currently

taste of Louisiana cuisine.

in the Lockport Head Start program will now attend

Raceland's New Community Center

the new community center, as well. After school hours, the community center will

RACELAND – Parish officials,

host civic events and adult

local community leaders

recreational and continuing

and state politicians were

education activities. In the

on hand for the opening of

event of a natural disaster,

the Raceland Community

the community center could

Center, a new educational

also serve as an emergency

facility completed just before

shelter and/or preparedness

the start of the 2013-2014

headquarters.

school year. Situated on La. Highway 308, the community center

Future concepts for the $1 million project, which was originally approved in

2009, include a community garden, regularly scheduled community dinners and activities arranged by the parish rec department and organizations like Community Action and the Council on Aging.

A Junior Golfer Makes Team USA Breaux Bridge – Jonathon Simons was one of eight junior golfers selected to the Team USA squad that battled against competitors from Canada and Europe in the International Junior Golf Tour’s Euro Cup held in historic St. Andrews, Scotland. In the final round of match play, Simons bested Alex Corrigan 4-up with three holes remaining. Despite Simons’ strong showing, though, Team USA finished the three-day event in third place behind Canada and Scotland. Since its inception in 1995, the International Junior Golf Tour has been a launching pad of sorts for several professional golfers including PGA Tour members Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Morgan Hoffmann plus LPGA Tour stars like Paula Creamer and Song Hee Kim. Simons was the only Team USA member from Louisiana. Prior to the trip to Scotland, Simons competed in three domestic IJGT events: The Hilton Head Open, The Shootout at Colleton River Plantation, and he notched a 9th-place finish at The Florida Swing at Harmony Golf Preserve.

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Conni Castille

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de la cuisine

Pecan Treats By Marcelle Bienvenu Photographed by eugenia uhl

This morning the noise caused by pecans bouncing on the tin roof of my office sounded like I was being blasted by machine guns. Not only were the squirrels having a hey-day, but there was a stiff breeze, signaling a cool front, sending a shower of nuts down from my prized pecan trees. The sound of the rat-tat-tat triggered a memory stored deep in my brain. When I was a youngster, I was often sent to Tante Belle's for a sleepover on Friday nights while my parents had a date night. I happily stuffed my cotton flannel nightgown (Tante Belle's house was not very warm, heated only by small gas heaters) in my red overnight bag and skipped through the yard to her house next door. We often had our supper in her kitchen, made cozy by the heat from the stove where a pot of seafood gumbo simmered. She always had sugar cookies (ti gateau sec) to enjoy with our hot chocolate before bed. She was an early riser, but I often followed her to the kitchen, still warm from the night before, where we had steaming cups of cafe au lait sweetened with raw sugar from the nearby mill and cornbread generously drizzled with pure cane syrup. Conversation was usually about what we would do for the rest of the morning. Her house had a tin roof and if we heard the pinging of pecans, Tante Belle suggested we get dressed, pick pecans in the yard, and shell enough to make a pecan pie. On our hands and knees, with woolen scarves wrapped around our heads, we had more than enough pecans in no time at all.

OLD-TIME PECAN PIE M A K E S 6 S E RV I N G S

3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup pecans 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the flour. Mix well. Add the sugar mixture to the eggs. Add the corn syrup, vanilla and pecans. Stir gently to mix. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the filling sets. Cool before slicing to serve. If we got on a roll in the kitchen, Mama allowed me to spend another night at Tante Belle's, so we could make pecan lace cookies (my father's favorite), and creamy pralines for my brother, Henri Clay, who had a big sweet tooth.

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de la cuisine

PECAN LACE COOKIES MAKES 30 COOKIES

6 tablespoons butter, softened 4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup sifted AP flour 1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder Pinch of salt 2 cups sugar 2 eggs, well beaten 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans Preheat the oven to 400°F. With a pastry brush, spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter over two large baking sheets. Sprinkle each baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the flour and tip the pan from side to side to distribute the flour evenly. Invert the baking sheet and rap it sharply to remove the excess flour. Combine 1/2 cup of the flour, the baking powder and the salt, and sift them together in a bowl. Set aside. In a deep bowl, cream 2 tablespoons of the butter by beating it and mashing it against the sides of the bowl with the back of a spoon until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, beat in the eggs and the vanilla, and stir the flour mixture into the batter. Then add the pecans. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cookies have spread into lace-like 4-inch rounds and have turned golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a minute or so, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool completely, then coat them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour, and bake the remaining cookies. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

CREAMY PRALINES MAKES 2 DOZEN

1 pound light brown sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup evaporated milk 1 tablespoon butter 2 cups pecan halves Mix the sugar, salt, milk and butter in a heavy pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Add the pecans and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it reaches 12

the soft-ball stage (234 to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then stir rapidly until the mixture begins to thicken and lightly coats the pecans. Drop by tablespoon onto wax or parchment paper. When the pralines have cooled, gently lift from the surface with a knife and store in an airtight container.

COCOONS (SANDIES) MAKES 4 DOZEN

1 cup butter 1/3 cup sugar 2 teaspoons water 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup chopped pecans Confectioner's sugar Tante Belle knew that I loved cocoons (or sandies), so she always made time to help me with these. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add the water and vanilla, and mix well. Add the flour and pecans, and mix well. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

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Shape the dough into small balls, about the size of a walnut. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet until slightly golden, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then roll the cookies in confectioners’ sugar. Store in airtight containers.

WHISKEY BALLS MAKES 3 DOZEN

1 (10 to 12 ounce) box vanilla wafers, crushed 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 cup very finely chopped walnuts or pecans 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 cup rum or brandy Extra confectioner’s sugar for rolling One time, we made whiskey balls and we both got a little "silly." Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in the confectioner’s sugar. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Oh, didn't we have fun! I think I'm inspired to invite a couple of my grandnieces for a sleepover soon. Maybe we can make pecan memories, too. ap

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les artistes

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Message in the Method Lafayette-based artist Amy Guidry draws up a decades-old conceptual approach to address important issues in the here and now. BY WILLIAM KALEC

The rude question posed to Amy Guidry – a jolt rivaling the avant-garde disposition of her portfolio – isn’t easy to absorb, eliciting a laugh born from disquiet not humor. As the forced chuckle fades, a brief uncomfortable silence permeates for a couple of breaths. “Was I a weird kid growing up?” the Lafayette artist repeats to buy a second. “Gosh, I don’t know. I mean …” It’s fair, something she’s been asked before, although perhaps not so bluntly. It arises from time to time, show to show – manifesting in forms like, “Oh, you must have some really strange dreams, huh?” or when her gallery pieces offer social commentary on gender inequality, “Did you paint this prior to your marriage?” – because, quite frankly, Guidry’s work doesn’t blend in seamlessly when hung over a fireplace. It’s different, not for a shock, but for substance. There’s no Spanish moss, no two-steppers, no washboards, no shrimpers or trappers or poachers, no food, no drink, none of the safe buoys oversaturating a talented but somewhat-repetitive local art scene. What there is, as seen in Guidry’s piece “Freedom,” is an impossibly colored pheasant bursting from the mouth of a beautiful woman set against a backdrop of tree bark; a visual statement illustrating female strength, growth and independence. Or, as in the untitled but unmistakable painting featured in Guidry’s “In Our Veins” series, the severed

head of a rabbit, duck, rat, crow and boar float beneath a western landscape – commentary on how animals are often viewed as “parts” and not living beings, all of which brings us back to our original question: “You know, as a kid I’d go out in the ditch and catch tadpoles, so I guess that’s pretty normal, right?” Guidry asks as she answers. “But I did spend a lot of time drawing. It was a way to express myself. And even going to school, it’d be a great way to strike up a conversation with a kid I didn’t really know. They’d see my art, and all the sudden I had a new friend.” As Guidry goes on, she speaks of a charmed childhood on the Northshore, of college scholarships, of weekend hiking trips with her husband, of strategically placed notebooks around her house so she’s never too far away to jot something down should a light bulb illuminate over her head, and of how she spent last Saturday night on the couch watching the Jason Bateman comedy, Identity Thief – you know, normal stuff. Together, it’s a summation of proof that you don’t have to necessarily be different to paint with meaning. “Art is more than a decoration,” she says. “It’s not just about matching your sofa. This is something that you’re going to live with for the rest of your life and hopefully you’ll pass it along to your family. So it better have an emotional connection to you – an attachment. It should be more than pretty to your eyes.” www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

les artistes

The distinctive personality of Guidry’s collection draws comparisons to the cultural surrealism movement of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s – an artistic avenue birthed out of continual global conflict that enables painters to shake and unnerve the audience while providing social commentary through abstract concepts constructed from true-to-life images. Most famously, the movement is epitomized in Salvador Dali’s melting clocks and Rene Magritte’s “Son of Man.” When asked to typecast her work, Guidry offers a bit of a twist, calling it “contemporary surrealism.” Dreams and free-association exercises are her artistic feedstock, fueling Guidry’s chosen vehicle to (as she so perfectly puts it) inspire, enlighten, amuse, brighten and bring forth positive change. At times, her art is uncomfortable, yet impossible to look away from, sparking an innerconversation that can’t be ignored. “If only one person ever heard me, these are issues that are important to me, so that’s enough,” she says. “It’s great that I have that luxury to create work that has a dialogue with its viewer. I hope their takeaway from my work is positive, that they pay-it-forward in their own lives. It’s never a guarantee, but it’s something I shoot for in every painting. “When I first started out, and I didn’t know anything about business, I thought, ‘Oh, well, I need to paint what people want,’” she continues. “But I discovered, it really doesn’t matter what you paint – it just needs to speak to someone. There are artists struggling painting safe, pleasing things. There’s never any one answer.” Spiral-bound glimpses into Guidry’s thought process are scattered around her home. There’s always a notebook within reach – by her bed, one near the kitchen, a couple tossed in random drawers here and there – because inspiration is spontaneous and fleeting, often showing up unannounced and leaving much too early. Before it escapes, Guidry jots down a reminder of its presence, usually in the form of stick-figure drawings that she’ll reference days, weeks or months later. From these minimalist sketches, Guidry has brought life to pieces used to decorate the house in MTV’s “The Real World 20: Hollywood” and that show up in scenes for the upcoming movie When Angels Sing, starring music legends Harry Connick Jr. and Willie Nelson. Though Guidry refuses to compromise the integrity of her art for commercial success, several prominent galleries and museums have exhibited her work, including the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Brandeis University, the PhilaMOCA, the Paul & Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum and the Acadiana Center for the Arts. 18

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portrait by Travis gauthier

“Say I was a musician and I created an album. The likelihood that you’re gonna like every song is slim,” she says. “But sometimes one song is enough reason for me to buy an entire album … Well, not now, but back in the day, you had to buy the whole album. Anyway, I find with my regulars, they might not like all my series, they might not like all the paintings in a particular series, but there’s going to be one that resonates with them. “And that’s fine by me. As long as I’m true to my work, that’s what’s going to speak to people.” ap

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la maison

Rooms with a View A “stay-cation” residence in Lake Charles By Lisa leblanc–berry Photographed by chad chenier

Inspired by the 1974 film, The Great Gatsby starring Robert Redford, this Lake Charles homeowner envisioned balmy evenings with soft breezes blowing in through open French doors, rippling across gauzy curtains in the house of her dreams. There would be views of a swimming pool from every room and the sound of trickling fountains from dawn to dusk. The master suite would have the feel of a luxurious Parisian apartment jazzed up with the ultimate boudoir. She wanted a fireplace in the master bath accented with Calcutta marble, and an extensive walk-in closet featuring elegant sitting and dressing areas. The study in the master suite, which would take up an entire wing of the house, would flank a charming Parisian-style sitting room with a large fireplace. She imagined soft and seductive outdoor lighting for evening swims and lively soirées, and a loggia right off the utterly romantic master bedroom. 22

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All of this dreaming was calculated with meticulous notes and stacks of interior design magazine clippings. An architect was never engaged for the project. “The concept for building this house began when my husband and I spent two-and-a-half months in Europe after he finished his residency,” explains the owner. The wife of a prominent Lake Charles oncologist, she began gathering interior and architectural design ideas while they traveled throughout France. “We were particularly enamored with Paris, so we spent more time there than anywhere else,”

she reflects. “After we moved back to Lake Charles from New Orleans so that my husband could start his medical practice here, we decided that we wanted to build a home that had a large master suite inspired by Parisian décor.” The couple initially purchased a small, twobedroom house in downtown Lake Charles while getting settled and starting a family. “After our second child was born, we would put the children to sleep at night, go into the kitchen and draw up the plans for our new dream home,” she says.

Overlooking a golf course, the rear portion of the home was designed to provide splendid views from the living wing (right) and the master suite wing (left). Timed to turn on at dusk, the uplights at the base of the columns enhance the subtle shimmering of pale blue glass tiles surrounding the pool and spa by Planet Pools.

“The main thing I wanted to create was a luxurious home that would feel like we were on a perpetual vacation and a master bath that had all the elements of a luxury hotel. I wanted to have a pool that would be a seamless extension of the house, like the outdoor area depicted in The Great Gatsby. We wanted all the rooms to be open, so that you could just open up all of those French doors for parties and have a nice flow from inside to outside. Now, you can step out of our French doors and you’re in the Jacuzzi!” she exclaims. www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

la maison

“We walk out of our back door, get on a golf cart and ride to the country club for lunch. My husband and I both love to play golf, and our two girls enjoy going to the club a lot,” she adds. “I rarely use our front entrance anymore.” The couple built the sprawling new house in the small Turnberry neighborhood overlooking the Lake Charles Country Club. After hiring a European draftsman to manually draw up the plans for the 8,300-square-foot, five-bedroom, two-story residence, they engaged custom home builder Greg Richard to execute the various concepts. “There were no architectural plans at all. Everything was pretty much designed from pictures that the owners had collected,” Richard points out. “The entire house was designed to wrap around the pool, so I built two wings that connect to a large foyer on the first floor. The master suite pretty much takes up the entire wing on the right, and the left wing incorporates the great room, dining and living rooms. We placed the other four bedrooms and four baths on the second floor. Everything was hand-done, from the trim work to the custom mantels, the iron work, and the arched beams in the cathedral-height great room. “It took almost two years to build,” he continues. “There were a lot of unique details involved. It is TOP LEFT: The custom railing is by iron artisan Jeff Hebert of Justin Iron Works; the Kayseri rug originates from Turkey. TOP RIGHT: A Yamaha Disklavier grand player piano from O’Neill’s Music House resides near the entrance foyer. BOTTOM LEFT: Full-skirted dining chairs surround a Century table in the breakfast area that extends to the great room. Valences were fashioned to follow the curve of the windows. An elegant architectural element, the eyebrow arch was selected to subtly distinguish contiguous rooms.

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www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

la maison

definitely a one-of-a-kind house that is a combination of different European styles, but it has contemporary elements throughout including the kitchen,” he notes. “Although the indoor living space is 8,300 square feet, the home is actually 10,000 square feet in size with the inclusion of the loggia that is an extension of the living area.” A tone of luxury is established the moment one steps into the dramatic entry hall, which provides a view of the pool and golf course through a series of contiguous eyebrow arches between the formal living and dining rooms. A Yamaha Disklavier grand player piano resides near the entrance. An amazing instrument, it has Internet access and is programmed to stream in recordings and live broadcasts. Music from the Yamaha echoes throughout the house at all hours via an elaborate sound system that extends to the pool area, as well. TOP LEFT: The edge molding lends a tray table effect of a Century cocktail table in the great room. A circa-1860 French buffet accents the left corner of the room. TOP RIGHT: A dessert niche was created for the dining room. An antique Pier mirror resides above a buffet by Drexel Heritage. Tassels on the dining chairs add formality to the setting. BOTTOM RIGHT: A rare Heriz rug from Iran accents the kitchen. Julie Guidry of Stoma’s Furniture and Interiors was instrumental in the selection of the light fixture above the custom island and numerous other pieces throughout the home.

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

la maison

TOP LEFT: An antique Trumeau mirror above a circa-1750 Louis XV-style Aixoise mantel adds a touch of Paris to the master suite; a pair of skirted French arm chairs are custom upholstered in Scalamandre silk. TOP RIGHT: The master bedroom features a king bed from the Natchez Collection by Henredon. BOTTOM RIGHT: A casting of a 17th-century lion head wall fountain from Avignon, France, created by French Casting Company adorns the rear loggia.

“I like to leave the music on all the time,” says the owner, who enjoys gleaning treasures from flea markets during shopping expeditions with her friends. One of her favorite finds was the opulent crystal chandelier that she purchased “for little to nothing” and restored, piece by piece. It is now the focal point of the elegantly appointed dining room, which has a built-in dessert niche. “I really take my time deciding on each and every piece that we purchase in this house,” she says. “It took me several years to decide on the mantel for our master bedroom, so it was just installed in the spring,” she says. The circa-1750 Louis XV-style Aixoise mantel in the master suite features a prominent brow along the edge of the lintel with deep, concave carvings on the outer legs. “I went to Scalamandre in Houston to find the fabric for the pair of French chairs near the mantel,” she says. “I felt like the bedroom should be very formal, and I wanted the master bath to also be formal. I wanted it to feel like a five-star hotel. There is a little vent underneath my vanity that has a switch. It turns on heat to warm my toes! “I totally fell in love with the king bed from the Natchez Collection by Henredon,” she continues. “I had it in my mind for years. Now, it’s in our master suite. I wait for things until something I really like becomes available.” “The owners selected eyebrow arches in the master suite and throughout the house as a softening architectural element,” says Richard. “The eyebrow arches work especially well in the great room with its cathedral-height ceilings.” Eyebrow cornices were created to follow the shape of the wall of windows that slope downward. A mirror in the great room was designed to cleverly hide the television. Slip-covered sofas near the fireplace lend a shabby-chic, casual nuance to the space.

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

“I was really lucky to find craftsmen who respected my ideas and worked to make my dreams a reality,” says the owner. “I initially found this with Greg Richard and again with Jeff Hebert, who did my custom ironwork, and then just lately with Jay Barkley, my mason who laid the travertine around our pool and formed the fountain,” she concludes. “These guys all worked diligently and sought to make things as perfect as they could possibly be. Our vision of creating a stay-cation home was successfully executed, thanks to these extraordinary craftsmen.” ap

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

cadiana’s chefs have well been acquainted with the concept of farmto-table. With the year-round bounty that Louisiana produces – from easily accessible seafood to fresh fruits and vegetables – restaurants are able to provide customers with locally grown and produced creations. But many chefs are pushing the trend further, making a more conscious effort to buy local and serve with the seasons – even growing produce. The following are Acadiana chefs making culinary waves and striving to bring home a more authentic Louisiana cuisine.

by cheré coen | romero & romero photography

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

Chef Jonathan Kastner BRICK & SPOON

3 5 2 4 K A L I S TE S A L OOM ROA D , L A F AYETTE BR I C K AN D S POONRE S TA U RANT. COM

ryan Jewell and Ryan Trahan approached their old friend Jonathan Kastner about a new restaurant concept they were working on in Lafayette, with more to come in other Southern cities. They lured the former chef of Lafayette’s City Club and Bella Figuera to put his spin on the menu. The result is Brick & Spoon, a casual, hip restaurant that serves unique and classic breakfast and lunch dishes. The Lafayette location opened in May, followed by the Orange Beach, Ala., restaurant. A Houston location will open soon. Kastner grew up in Lafayette but studied at Chicago’s Kendall College. He returned to Acadiana about six years ago. In addition to helming the Brick & Spoon kitchen and developing the kitchens at the new restaurants out of state, he serves as a health cook, helping people lose weight, avoid gluten or deal with other nutritional issues. “I help them to achieve (their goals) through food,” he says. His heart is in the local food movement, and he collaborates with the Acadiana Food Circle, a collection of local chefs, producers and farmers working to make farm-to-table fare easier for restaurants. Since it’s difficult to stock Brick & Spoon completely with local products, Kastner uses local ingredients in daily specials. “I’m a big supporter of the local farmers,” he says. “I like to get people in touch with the local farmers and demystify it. With the specials, I highlight local farmers and artisans and really showcase what Lafayette has to offer.” Keeping it local is not just about the food, Kastner insists. Brick & Spoon uses local flowers from Home Grown Organics to add color to the restaurant. “We try to support local producers in any way we can,” he says. At Brick & Spoon, Kastner enjoys taking traditional flavors and combining them in unique ways. Deviled on the Bayou, for instance, brings deviled eggs up a notch by mixing eggs with shrimp and tasso for a purée and then topping it with a fried oyster and Sriracha aioli. He explains, “I like to highlight the ingredients.”

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

Chef F Dustie Latiolais C r a w f is h Town USA 2 8 1 5 G r a n d P o i n t Hw y. , H e n d e r s o n c r a wfis h t o w n us a . c o m

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

or Chef Dustie Latiolais, taking over the kitchen at Crawfish Town USA in Henderson was a career coming full circle. Latiolais hails from nearby Cecilia and worked at Pat’s in Henderson, his great uncle’s restaurant. He also spent time in the Crawfish Town kitchen before heading to the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge. With his culinary diploma and associate degree under his belt, Latiolais worked for Stoube’s and the Hilton Garden Inn in Baton Rouge and L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. Then in October 2012, Latiolais became the executive chef of Crawfish Town USA. “Finally, I came back home,” he says. Because he had worked there before, taking over the kitchen was easy, he says; he knew the business and knew what was expected of him. “Coming back was like reuniting with the family. I came back knowing the process,” he says. Crawfish Town USA still specializes in local seafood and plenty of crawfish dishes, in addition to an endless parade of boiled crustaceans every spring. Latiolais draws upon seafood producers a stone’s throw from the restaurant for his fish, crabmeat and crawfish. Some of his favorite dishes include the Seafood Sensation Salad, a mixture of crab, crawfish, shrimp and fresh corn atop heirloom tomatoes. Latiolais’ seafood expertise landed him as a competitor for this year’s Louisiana Seafood Cookoff, where he created Cypremont Point soft-shell crabs, double-battered and served over crawfish and tasso corn maque choux. He’s changed a few things at the restaurant and shortened the menu, and he changes items with the seasons. One new thing the chef initiated was to peel and freeze crawfish tails for the off-season, good news for crawfish lovers. “We put up 4,000 pounds,” he says. “We fell a little short of our mark, but we feel it will help a lot.”

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

xecutive Chef Lindsay Mason of Cristiano Ristorante comes from “a cooking family.” His South Louisiana grandparents cooked, and his mother served meals six days a week, leaving Sunday as a “fend-for-yourself” day. Mason didn’t expect to enter the restaurant business – he received college scholarships for art – but in high school he worked in Thibodaux restaurants and caught the culinary bug. “I loved food early on,” he says. He’s been in the business for 16 years now, with seven years at Cristiano Ristorante Lounge and Wine Boutique, following stints at Fremin’s, Café Milano and the Bayou Country Club, plus a quick gig offshore. He not only helms the kitchen at Cristiano’s in Houma, but also its sister restaurant Dick and Jenny’s on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans. Cristiano’s specializes in Italian cuisine while Dick and Jenny’s menu veers toward South Louisiana dishes. Because of Mason’s background in art, he centers his culinary creations around presentation, enjoying crisp colors and textures. He calls it “the art of the dish.” “You eat with your eyes first,” he says. He prefers to let the flavors speak for themselves. He doesn’t “muddle the food” or mask flavors. Sauces, for instance, are supposed to accentuate the dish, not overpower it. He also prefers locally grown items, such as heirloom tomatoes in different colors for his Caprese salad, married with buffalo mozzarella and home-grown basil. Raw items on the menu, such as oysters and tuna tartare, are popular, and Cristiano’s proximity to wetlands and the Gulf allows for consistently fresh ingredients. His oysters come from three blocks away and crabmeat comes from local producers “down the bayou.” Mason changes the menu every three months to spotlight seasonal fare. Fall offerings include slightly heavier dishes, he says: “something [with which] to curl up with a bottle of red wine.” Mason’s bottom line is creating culinary heaven and watching diners enjoy his masterpieces. “It’s all about making them happy,” he says. “The hours are crazy. If you don’t love what you do, you can’t be in the business.”

Chef Lindsay Mason C risti a no R istor a nt e 7 2 4 Hi g h S t. , H o u m a c r is t i a n o r is t o r a n t e . c o m

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Chef Marc Krampe S oci a l S out h e rn Table & Bar 3 9 0 1 J o h n s t o n S t. , L a f a y e t t e s o c i a ls o u t h e r n . c o m

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

nother chef who came full circle is Chef Marc Krampe, who grew up in Lafayette but left for a Washington, D.C., boarding school when he was 16. He later attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., but after visiting his sister in Austin, Texas, he decided he was better suited for the Texas Hill Country. In Austin, he discovered his love for cooking. “I worked in every restaurant I could just to learn everything I could,” he says. When Krampe heard Lafayette restaurateur Charley Goodson was looking for partners in a new business venture, Krampe headed home. The newly formed Southern Hospitality Kitchens restaurant group’s first project was Social Southern Table & Bar, a hip combination of unique food items and innovative cocktails. “There are so many awesome restaurants here and so many cool bars, and we wanted to put them together,” Krampe says. Krampe develops recipes for Social Southern but also supervises Charley G’s restaurant and helps with the wine dinners there. At Social, he works more in development with the assistance of Bill Schwanz. “My wife would see me even less if I didn’t have him here,” he says of Schwanz. One side of the restaurant features communal tables and the other more private dining. Krampe’s favorite spot is the nook with a leather couch and two comfy chairs, where diners can be intimate but “feel the pulse” of the restaurant. Krampe tries to use local ingredients whenever possible, has a garden growing on the side of the restaurant and even sells items created at Social Southern the first Saturday of the month at the new Lafayette Farmers & Artisans Market at the Lafayette Horse Farm. Social Southern’s menu consists of seasonal items and everything is produced in-house, including breads, sauces, marinated meats – even Worcestershire sauces and mustards. For their fries, for instance, they soak the potatoes for 24 hours, then blanch and chill them and cook to order. “Everything we do we do with a lot of love,” Krampe says. “We try to get the most natural products and make the product shine.” Spirits are created the same way, with fresh herbs and seasonal ingredients. Their Bloody Mary consists of vodka infused with cracklins and onions and a house-made mix. “If we could manufacture the air in here we would,” Krampe says with a laugh.

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

C Chef David Phillips 1 2 1 Artis a n B istro 1 2 1 D r . Mi c h a e l D e b a k e y D r i v e , Lake Charles

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

hef David Phillips graduated from the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas, and Le Cordon Bleu in 2003. He worked in Galveston, Texas, for several years, including a stint at the Galveston Yacht Club & Marina. But when he wanted to raise a family in a more hospitable environment, he chose Lake Charles. Phillips serves as executive chef at 121 Artisan Bistro, a chic restaurant that replaced D’Angelo’s when it burned down in 2009. The more upscale and diverse menu includes Italian dishes and pizza and also seafood and steaks. “We like to tackle it as everybody deserves an experience when they walk in the door,” Phillips says. “We have something on the menu for you.” Although primarily Italian with a Mediterranean style, the menu also includes specials such as a smothered duck, flash-fried oysters and a pork belly that’s braised and seared and served with beer-battered onion rings and a peach-chipotle sauce. He incorporates local food sources as much as possible, particularly in the summer. He purchases Italian sausages and breads, for instance, from a Lake Charles supplier and cake pops and mini desserts from Lake Charles bakery Sweet Chic. The move has been good, Phillips says, and he’s been enjoying the family atmosphere of Lake Charles as well as overseeing 121. He believes that alongside the new businesses sprouting up in Lake Charles, the culinary scene will flourish and grow. “A lot of people are going to come from larger cities and will look for more variety,” he says. “It’s going to give us a little opportunity to push the envelope.” He adds with a laugh, “I push the envelope as much as they will let me.” ap

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

N AS A AKE DON’T IMAGINE CADDO L

Refuge, an 8,500-acre park with a former railroad right of way that’s now a nine-mile-long nature trail. There’s probably no better way to explore this maze of swamps and bayous than on the water, though. Ten designated paddling trails wind through the area for a day of canoe fun; check with the Marshall Convention and Visitors Bureau (visitmarshalltexas.org) for a map and information on canoe liveries in the area.

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NB ODY OF WATER;

Don’t imagine Caddo Lake as an open body of water; it’s a twisting, turning maze of bayous and swamps where visibility is often limited to what’s just around the next bend. If you’d like to boat among these waters, you will follow “boat roads,” marked channels that wind through the trees. This is a lake to enjoy for relaxation, a place to listen to wildlife or toss a fishing line. Or if you’re ready for someone else to take the helm, enjoy a ride on The Graceful Ghost (gracefulghost.com). From its home base in Uncertain, this popular tourist boat welcomes travelers (and even their dogs) to explore Caddo Lake in a replica 1800s paddlewheel steamboat that’s one of the last wood-burning, steam-powered stern paddle-wheelers in the world. Tours require ombine the sense of adventure of a minimum of six guests and aren’t schedending the steamship business that Huck Finn with the romance of Gone uled for Sundays and Mondays. The Coast once moved goods and passenWith the Wind and what do you have? Guard-approved vessel provides a 75-minute gers into East Texas. Today the lake Caddo Lake, the only natural lake of any narrated tour of this historic area. has a man-made dam that keeps size in the state of Texas and one of many wild The quaintly named town of Uncertain is also the water level fairly constant (aldestinations that welcome you and your where you will find Captain Ron’s Gator Park, Petthough a look at the houses built on family for a weekend of outdoor fun. ting Zoo and Botanical Gardens which includes stilts around the lake’s edge will atThis primeval lake, once the largest a gator observation deck overlooking the gator test to its rise every decade or so). natural lake in the South, was named pond that’s home to many of the 200-plus bird Located in far East Texas, this sprawling for the Caddo Indians who once inspecies that coexist with the resident alligators. natural lake is tucked beneath a canopy habited this area. Today scientists One of the most popular stops in the reof moss-draped cypress trees. Filled with the know that the natural lake was gion is the Caddo Lake State Park, located echoes of herons, the splash of 71 species of fish, formed by a massive logjam (“the 15 miles northeast of Marshall near the and the slither of an occasional snake or alligator, Great Raft”) on the Red River. In community of Karnack. Here you can Caddo Lake is like no other destination in Texas. This the 1870s the jam was cleared explore the endless maze of watery maze of swampland is bursting with wildlife and flora, esand the lake level dropped, corridors by boat or canoe pecially at preserves like the Caddo Lake National Wildlife

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

Mize Azalea Garden (sfagardens.sfasu.edu) or, on land, enjoy hiking trails, picnic in Nacogdoches. Although this garden areas, and campgrounds. Campers is best known for its 500-plus varican spend their nights watching the eties of azaleas (the largest azalea evening fog envelop the cypress garden in Texas) that bloom in trees or hear the sound of creatures the spring, fall brings beautiful like raccoons, nutria, and beavers Japanese maples and camelbeginning their nightly prowls. lias from October through FebAnd a word of warning: Keep an ruary. Along with this garden, eye out for alligators! don’t miss a stroll through Alligators are also residents of the adjoining SFA Mast Arboanother of East Texas’ wildest atretum and the nearby Pineytractions: Big Thicket National Prewoods Native Plant Center, serve. This dense woodland located both located on the campus near the town of Kountze is a paraof Stephen F. Austin State dise for birdwatchers and has been University. The 18-acre SFA deemed “a globally important bird Mast Arboretum was the first arboretum at a university in Texas and boasts over 7,500 varieties of plants in 20 themed gararea” by the prestigious Amerdens. The 40-acre Pineywoods Naican Bird Conservancy. You’ll have tive Plant Center puts local plants at The trail travels through Huntsville the opportunity to view shorebirds, rapcenter stage in a native bottomland State Park, a 2,000-plus-acre park that tors and a variety of migrating songbirds, hardwood forest on the two-mileadjoins Sam Houston National Forest. as well as herons and egrets. Along with long Tucker Woods Trail. You can Hiking, camping, canoeing on Lake birding trails, don’t miss the Pitcher Plant also check out the blooms of East Raven, and fishing are top activities. Trail, a half-mile walk through the forest Texas wildflowers at the nearby Other trails in the park great for explorafor a look at some of the region’s most inLady Bird Johnson Wildflower tion are Chinquapin Trail along Big Chinteresting residents: carnivorous plants! Demonstration Garden. The quapin Creek (with a boardwalk), DogFour of the five insect-eating plants found Lanana Creek Trail connects wood Trail and Loblolly Trail. If you’d like in North America are found in this preserve the Pineywoods Native Plant to travel with your horse, you’ll even find along with 85 species of trees, 60 species of Center to the other gardens equestrian trails in this expansive park. shrubs, and nearly 1,000 other plant speon the university campus. East Texas offers a whole world of weekend cies. In the fall months, hunting is allowed Did you have something a fun for the active autumn traveler – however in portions of the preserve so check with little longer in mind for your you define a great outdoor getaway, from rangers before setting off on a long hike. fall hike? If so, you’ll find it on mild to wild! For all the bird and plant life of the 128-mile-long Lone Star East Texas, though, four-legged creaHiking Trail. Winding through tures are also well represented. One the Sam Houston National Forest, To order a free Texas Travel Guide and a of the most unique destinations is the trail – the longest wilderness Texas state map, visit traveltex.com, the offithe Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary footpath in the state – has numerous cial Texas tourism site. (wolvesofsaintfrancis.org) near access points. This shady trail lies beMontgomery. Both captive-born neath towering pines; some porwolves and wolf-dog hybrids call tions of the trail have campgrounds; Paris Permenter and John Bigley this sanctuary home. These anothers don’t even have drinking are a husband-wife team of travel imals, too wild to live in homes, water. During deer hunting season writers based in the Texas Hill too domesticated to survive in the (November and December), wear Country. The authors of numerous wild, live out their lives here at the bright colors since hunting is guidebooks to the Lone Star State, sanctuary. Closed Monday and Fripermitted in the forest. their next book is DogTipper’s Texas days, visits here are by appointment. with Dogs (Open Road Guides), to be Fall means fall color, and one of the best published this November. ap places to view it in East Texas is the Ruby M.

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YOUS AND SWAMPS W H E E OF BA R E V I S I B I L ITY IS OFTEN LIMITED

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www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

CATCHING FISH

IN THE “DEAD ZONE” W H E R E SCIENCE A ND B US I N E S S I N T E R MI N GL E WR IT T E N & P H O TOG RAPHED BY JOHN N. FELSHER 42

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FAR LEFT: Some red snapper show evidence of a good day fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. LEFT: Scott Avanzino and Bobby Adisano show off a wahoo they caught while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico south of Venice.

Returning to Cocodrie on a blistering day in August, our fish coolers overflowed with more than 17 species, including 11 tuna caught in the Gulf of Mexico after just three hours of actual fishing time. “Just another day in the heart of the dead zone,” quips Capt. Tommy Pellegrin of Custom Charters. “Every year, they put out a news release about the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. I’ve been running charters in the Gulf for decades. In all that time, I’ve never returned home without catching fish. When I’m fishing offshore, I probably come back with an average of 300 to 400 pounds of fish. Sometimes, we catch more than 1,000 pounds.” Each summer, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) releases its annual “dead zone update” outlining the area of hypoxia, or low oxygen, in the Gulf of Mexico. According to LUMCON, the hypoxic area stretches all along the Louisiana coastline and covers 5,000 to 9,000 square miles. Nutrients, primarily phosphorus and nitrates, flow into the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf, those nutrients feed a phytoplankton bloom. These microscopic plants comprise the basic building block for an entire ecosystem. Uneaten phytoplankton sinks to

the seabed and decomposes. The decomposition process consumes oxygen, creating hypoxic areas. “Phosphorus and nitrogen is good for the coastal system because it supports the food web that supports the fisheries,” explains Dr. Nancy N. Rabalais, executive director for Cocodrie-based LUMCON. “However, there’s been an increase in the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen since the 1960s because of human activities up the watershed. There’s not enough money to do more studies, and our research has already been cut back by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” During the summer, sunshine heats water near the surface while deeper water remains colder. Therefore, the Gulf stratifies into a warmer, oxygenated layer and a cooler layer with little or no oxygen. The same temperature stratification happens in many large freshwater lakes like Toledo Bend and occurs at major river deltas throughout the world. Stratification begins in the spring as waters warm and peaks in September. The hypoxic area fluctuates frequently. A strong storm could mix the layers. The thickness of the hypoxic layer also varies widely. In some places, it might take up half the water column. In other places, only the bottom few feet remains hypoxic. “The hypoxic zone usually occurs in the coastal waters from about 12 feet deep out to about 90 feet deep,” Rabalais says. “The hypoxic zone is not really present in the winter because we have too many cold fronts. That mixes up the layers and brings oxygen to the bottom. Most bays and estuaries are fairly well mixed.” Despite annual dire warnings about hypoxia, Louisiana still offers some of the best saltwater fishing anywhere in the United States. In 2011, commercial fishermen landed 1.8 billion pounds of shellfish and finfish like red snapper in the Gulf. Louisiana alone accounted for 1.3 billion pounds, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. “We catch a lot of snapper,” said Capt. Daryl Carpenter with Reel Screamers Guide Service in Grand Isle, ((225) 937-6288, realscreamers.com.) “We catch a lot of the bigger snapper higher

www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

LEFT: The deckhand gaffs a red snapper caught during a fishing trip to the Gulf of Mexico. RIGHT: Sea birds flock to a shrimp boat preparing to anchor after a night of trawling in the Gulf of Mexico south of Cocodrie.

“Louisiana has always been a strong seafood producer because of the Mississippi River,” Smith says. “About 80 to 85 percent of the seafood produced in the Gulf spends at least part of their lifecycle in the vast delta estuaries created by the river. It’s this system that drives the fertility of our fisheries.” Louisiana leads the nation in shrimp production with about 90 to 100 million pounds landed per year for a total value of more than $132 million, Smith says. That’s about 29 percent of the national harvest and 42 percent of the Gulf total. The Sportsman’s Paradise also leads the list in crawfish, alligator and oyster production. Louisiana oystermen bring in about 250 million pounds of oysters in the shell or about 61 percent of the national harvest. The state comes in second in finfish production behind Alaska and a close second in blue crab production behind Maryland with 43.7 million pounds valued at $36.2 million. “The commercial seafood industry directly creates about 30,000 jobs in Louisiana and thousands of secondary jobs,” Smith says. “The other element is tourism. Food is a big part of our culture. People come to South Louisiana to eat seafood and to fish. Whenever there’s a negative news story about fishing in the Gulf, that impacts tourism.” Much of the South Louisiana economy depends upon seafood production and recreational fishing. In 2012, recreational anglers spent 23 million days fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and spent $806 million in Louisiana alone. If sportsmen see a news report about the dead zone, they may go elsewhere to fish. That hurts the Louisiana economy. “When people hear ‘dead zone,’ they think the entire area from top to bottom is lifeless,” Pellegrin sums it up. “That hurts my business and the business of every other charter boat captain and all the marinas along the coast. There’s no way we can quantify the economic loss to this state when people decide to go elsewhere to fish because they heard about the dead zone. Some of my clients want to go see the dead zone. I say, ‘You’ve been in the middle of it all day. That’s where we caught this 900 pounds of fish!” ap

“Uneaten phytoplankton sinks to the seabed and decomposes. The decomposition process consumes oxygen, creating hypoxic areas.” in the water column. I think the hypoxic zone can become a serious problem, but it’s localized. Fish are able to move into areas with better water quality. Sometimes, we have to move a little farther to find the fish.” Louisiana produces about 34 percent of the seafood landed in the 48 contiguous states and more than 76 percent of the seafood caught in the Gulf of Mexico. The Louisiana commercial seafood industry contributes about $2.4 billion to the state economy each year, according to Ewell Smith, executive director for the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. Add recreational fishing into the equation, and the economic impact rises to more than $3 billion a year. 44

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A LOOK AT SOME OF THE REGIONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PRIVATE SCHOOLS P R O FI LE S B Y E LI Z A B E T H R O S E www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

very child deserves to learn… but there should be ways that each of our (students’) needs are addressed,” says St. Louis Catholic High School President Deborah Frank. At SLCHS, the administration prides itself on small class sizes that allow for individualized instruction, along with high academic expectations. SLCHS, the only Catholic high school in the15-parish Diocese of Lake Charles, has a 98- to 99-percent college acceptance rate, and students consistently score higher than the state average on the ACT test. The 2012 graduating class had an average composite score of 23.9 (compared to the national average at 21.1), and an average class score of 25 in English and 24.4 in reading, as compared to the national averages 20.5 and 21.3, respectively. Because the students are not required to take the state’s standardized tests, the school instead uses the ACT and Advanced Placement (AP) test scores to gauge how the school is performing. The 2013 graduating class had 18 students qualify for AP Scholar recognition, and SLCHS is consistently recognized by Louisiana State University during the annual spring testing for college credit. Frank says the students who graduate from SLCHS are well rounded and, “if they hang with what we expect here, they’re going to be able to do whatever they want to do whenever they leave St. Louis. Our people who finish here are very successful.” One of the individualized teaching tools to which Frank attributes some of the school’s academic success is the one-on-one initiative, now in its third year. Through the initiative, each of the school’s 600 students receive a laptop to use throughout his or her schooling at SLCHS, which is the only school in Southwest Louisiana to have the program. The technology, Frank says, “allows teachers to differentiate instruction for certain students.” In addition to the technology, Frank says the high expectations the faculty hold for students is the reason for students’ success beyond their schooling. “The faculty members, we function much like a family would,” says Frank, who is in her fifth year at SLCHS. “Every student is important, and we see our jobs not so much as jobs but as a ministry, and I think that extra ingredient there really makes a difference. We nurture kids academically, spiritually, and we have the extracurricular activities and athletics for well-rounded students.”

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

Among those extracurricular activities are a drama club, a student newspaper, band, show choir, Key Club, Earth club, quiz bowl and student council. However, one of the extracurricular requirements for all students is a community service crusade called the Christian Service Program in which students are required to earn a certain number of hours depending on their grade level. Seniors must perform 20 hours over the course of the school year, though Frank says many students exceed their requirements. Last year, the students performed 14,000 hours of service, split between one-on-one interactions with individuals who are less fortunate and group projects like trash pick-ups. In addition to the service program, all students take a religion course each year of high school to supplement their academic education with a spiritual one. According to the school’s website, the school “strives to create an atmosphere in which the students value God and develop their own giftedness in order to take their respective places in the global community as responsible Catholic Christians.” SLCHS was named after King Louis XIV of France, who is the patron saint of Louisiana, along with Monsignor Louis Boudreaux, who was one of the school’s first leaders. The school was established in 1971 when Landry Memorial, St. Charles Academy and Sacred Heart High School merged.

River Ranch Campus (Grades Pre-K3-K): 401 Silverstone, Lafayette (337) 984-6060 Downtown Campus (Grades 1 through 7) 1030 Johnston St., Lafayette (337) 233-9748 Sugar Mill Pond Campus (Grades 8 through 12) 1800 Chemin Metairie Pkwy., PO Box 1018, Youngsville (337) 856-0043 aesgators.org Grades: Pre-K-3 through 12th Affilition: Episcopal Enrollment: 743 Faculty: 91

“At Ascension Episcopal School, opportunity comes in the form of a faith-filled environment of academic excellence. Our faculty and staff focus on developing the whole child, with a curriculum designed to teach lifelong learning skills.”

200 West St. Peter St., Carencro (337) 896-8973 carencrocatholic.org Grades: Pre-K through 8th Affilition: Catholic, affiliated with St. Peter Church in Carencro Enrollment: 406 Faculty: 40

“Carencro Catholic is an academic community of excellence immersed in the traditions of Roman Catholic faith, which is reflected in all core subjects, art education, music and technology classes.”

848 St. John St., Lafayette (337) 235-5577 cathedralcarmel.com Grades: Pre-K through 8th Affilition: Catholic School under the Diocese of Lafayette Enrollment: 795 Faculty: 80

“CCS is a unique and effective combination of Mt. Carmel and Cathedral High and is the oldest school in Lafayette founded in 1846. The faculty and staff teach Roman Catholic values in an environment of academic excellence so that our school community is one of care, concern and compassion.”

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Lower School: 721 E. Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette; Middle and Upper Schools: 1557 Smede Road, Broussard (337) 365-1416 ESAcadiana.com Grades: Lower School: Pre-K-

5th grade

fter a 2010 fire that destroyed both the church and one of the buildings at St. Matthew’s Episcopal School in Houma, the school is “absolutely ready to grow,” says Assistant Head of School Larke Leonard, but it will not compromise its model of individualized instruction. The school’s mission statement focuses on “the pursuit of academic excellence, the establishment of self-esteem and the development of positive relationships with family and community” and “serves to reinforce both family values and the God-given dignity of each individual student.” St. Matthew’s has 160 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through seventh grade; the smallest class size is 14 students and the largest is 20 students. Leonard said the class sizes never exceed 20 students, which allows for a very high quality of instruction. “It’s just a really loving environment, a good Christian environment for the kids,” says Leonard, who is in her 10th year at St. Matthew’s and also has two children enrolled there. “With our classes being that small, the teacher has more opportunities for differentiated instruction, one-on-one instruction, small group teaching, things like that. Students can work at their own pace.” The small classes also allow for better teacher-student relationships, plus more involved interaction with parents and grandparents. Construction on the new chapel and school building will be complete at the end of the spring, which means the school will be able to open more sections of some grades, depending on how many students enroll. Teachers at St. Matthew’s use Accelerated Math and Accelerated Reader as the building blocks of the work-at-your-own-pace instruction; students also take tests online and work on an individual basis with their instructors. All classrooms also have an interactive smart board to aid with instruction as part of its large technology department. The school also has an iPad cart with 30 tablets, plus a laptop cart and an additional 13 iPads for classrooms to use. The school consistently scores well on the Stanford Achievement Tests, which are the standardized tests the St. Matthew’s administration chooses to use. St. Matthew’s is split between the Upper School and Lower School, which both provide instruction more focused on the children’s age-appropriate needs. The lower school focuses on “instilling in each child a love for learning and a love for self,” according to the school’s website. The Lower School’s curriculum “reflects our strong belief that each child is unique, with his or her own pattern and timing of growth and development.” The Upper School aims to celebrate the pre- and early adolescent time in children’s lives, and recog-

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nizes the students’ “varying learning styles” and ensures that “each lesson contains component that will reach each student,” according to the school’s website. All students attend four different enrichment programs during the week: library, physical education, computer lab and music. Music classes are two times a week for all students, and students have the opportunity to sing in the school’s choir, the Chorusters. Students in the fourth through seventh grades can audition for the Chorusters, and the group sings at Sunday Mass and special events, like the Christmas and spring concerts. The 4-H club is also very active in the community. The students also attend Mass every Thursday in addition to going to chapel every morning. Without the church building, the students gather in a temporary tent, much like those used for weddings, and worship there. Each day they say the pledge, pray and learn a Bible verse, all an integrated part of the children’s education. After the school opened in 1947 as a kindergarten, it has grown to nurture and mold students in the Christian tradition.

Middle and Upper Schools: 3rd through 12th Affilition: Independent Episcopal school Enrollment: 507 Faculty: 88

“ESA emphasizes applied learning, critical thinking and talent development in a setting promoting the outdoors and nature. ESA’s Honor Code engenders trust and respect.”

201 West Convent St., Lafayette (337) 237-1546 fbcslafayette.com Grades: Pre-school (age 3) through 8th grade Affiliation: Baptist Enrollment: 210 Faculty: 23

“First Baptist provides educational advantage within a Christian environment. By partnering with parents we help equip students to reach their full potential.”

2315 Johnston St., Lafayette (337) 235-2464 fatimawarrior.com Grades: Pre-K through 8th and Department of Exceptional Children Affiliation:

Catholic, Our Lady of Fatima Church, Our Lady of Fatima School Foundation, OLF Parents Club and OLF Booster Club Enrollment: 927 Faculty: 105

“Our Lady of Fatima School prides itself in high academic standards, a faith-filled Catholic community and well-rounded, successful students.”

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1821 Academy Road, Grand Coteau (337) 662-5275 sshcoteau.org Grades: Pre-K3 through12 for girls, Pre-K3 through 12 for boys Affilition: Independent Catholic, ISAS and AdvancEd Accredited Enrollment: 490 Faculty: 59

t St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, the aim is to educate the whole student: physically, academically and spiritually, as all students are taught in accordance with the school motto to become “seekers of truth, individuals of character and God’s servant first.” “We teach with a lot of rigor and relevance,” says Principal Richard Lavergne, who started his post at STM in July after retiring from a 40-year career in the public school system. “We want to serve others and to get in deeper into God and Jesus Christ. We’re just trying to get our kids to have a relationship with God and church.” The STM administration attributes the students’ high academic performance to the school’s exceptional standards, supplemented by the school’s focus on Catholic ministry and religion. “We provide a very high level of education – a very challenging curriculum,” says Lavergne. “We provide activities for the whole child – we have numerous clubs, organizations, athletics, debate teams, just good all-around activities for our students. We want to develop the whole child, and so all of our organizations perform to very high levels. We provide good, wholesome activities to allow our students to promote their strengths.” The school, established in 1982, offers multiple levels of curricula, including Advanced Placement (AP) and college prep courses, which lend themselves to the school’s exceptional college acceptance rate: 99 percent. Its honors program average composite ACT test score is 27.5, well above the Louisiana average composite of 20.3. It has also produced numerous National Merit finalists and commended scholars, as well as multiple AP scholars with various levels of recognition. Notable alumni include Lyle Mouton, class of ’87, who played basketball and baseball for LSU and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox; and Mikie Mahtook, who graduated in 2008 and played baseball for LSU in the College World Series and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. Four athletic teams (boys’ basketball, softball, girls’ golf and volleyball) won a respective state championship last year, as well. STM’s staff of 120 oversees the 1,091 students enrolled this year, and each student receives a computer tablet for the duration of his or her high school career, an initiative that “aids interaction” between teacher and student, says Lavergne. The school is delving into “21st-century learning,” according to Lavergne, as they are piloting a virtual program this year that offers online classes that teachers can use as resources for tutoring, extended absences, review lessons, ACT test prep and, in some cases, provide high-level classes to small groups of students interested in augmenting their education. “Here, it’s going to add texture to the curricula – another dimension is a way to say it. But we will not be a virtual school,” says Lavergne. In some cases, he says, it’s possible to offer virtual learning courses in

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math and foreign languages to students in STM’s feeder schools with the intention of helping them test out of beginning-level classes once they enter high school. Though the school is already recognized for its high academic achievements, the administration is working to elevate academic performance to the next level, as administrators work with teachers in the classroom on how to improve instruction. A new professional development program for teachers also stimulates conversation about how to better educate individual students and improved teaching methods. But equally important in all students’ STM education are the Catholic teachings, which are taught in a religion class that all students are required to take for all four years. In addition, the campus ministry has about 400 active students, and every student is required to attend a retreat or ministry project, which could include caroling during the holidays or assisting with a food drive; the 2013 graduating class alone performed 3,250 community service hours. All students attend Mass every Thursday, the relationship between the church and the school and the solid Catholic education students receive is the best part of attending STM. ap

“Founded in 1821, Sacred Heart is composed of two-single-gender schools. Two unique programs are boarding for girls and an equestrian program.”

205 East Bayou Parkway, Lafayette (337) 237-3139 stpiuselementary.org Grades: Pre-K 3 – 8th grade Affiliation: Catholic Enrollment: 730 Faculty: 90

“St. Pius is a Catholic Elementary School that believes every child is a gift. St. Pius is centered in the Eucharist, bringing the presence of Christ to others.”

450 E. Farrel Road, Lafayette (337) 988-3700 stmcougars.net Grades: 9th through 12th Affiliation: Catholic Enrollment: 1095 Faculty: 125

“St. Thomas More Catholic High School is grounded in Catholicism and integrates Christian values in all aspects of education. The school provides rigorous academics, a challenging curriculum, a variety of co-curricular activities, athletics, faith formation, community service and campus ministry.”

139 Teurlings Drive, Lafayette (337) 235-5711 ext. 105 tchs.net Grades: 9th through 12th Affilitions: Catholic Enrollment: 681 Faculty: 55

“Teurlings Catholic High School develops each individual’s ability to channel His Spirit for the glory of God.”

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personnes d’acadiana

The Road to Provisions An unlikely pair of start-up business partners, Manny Augello and Abi Broussard have big plans for their tiny, flavorful jars of condiments. by william kalec 64

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The recipe to hectic Friday mornings (which they seemingly all are nowadays) calls for a generous scoop of sarcasm, a staple ingredient in most everything chef Manny Augello and ex-wife Abi Broussard whip up. “It’s sooooooo hard working with marshmallows,” sighs Broussard, co-owner and Chief Operating Wiseass of Bread and Circus Provisions, a Lafayette-based homemade condiment and charcuterie company. Stomachs aren’t even grumbling for lunch yet, but this facetious back-and-forth verbal dance of one-upsmanship has been humming for hours. Broussard’s not gonna lie: She can see how an outsider might find it uncomfortable;

travis gauthier photograph

how it’d be easy to misinterpret these playful exchanges between divorcees as something deeper than a way to get through the grind of an unwinnable supply-demand race. Like, for instance, this morning Augello finished a batch of mayonnaise. While jarring and labeling it, Broussard snuck a taste. Meh, it’s not as good as last week, she jabbed passive aggressively. That’s probably why their marriage failed. She smiled a halfsweet, half-sinister smile at Augello. Through a return grin Augello snapped back, “No, the marriage failed because you can’t bake.” It’s this Tender Loving Care (seriously, don’t get it twisted, this is TLC) that sets Bread and Circus Provisions apart from the collage of condiment labels found along Row 4 of all those soulless goliath supermarkets throughout Acadiana. Trumpeting the same farm-to-table mantra Augello pioneered as executive chef at Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro, Bread and Circus leans heavily on the bevy of local agricultural options available in its line of sauces, relishes and preserves. The still-teething company operates in borrowed kitchen space at the Saint Street Inn, pumping out products during the restaurant’s down hours, enabling Bread and Circus to at least enjoy a fleeting presence in select Lafayette restaurants and specialty shops – Village Café and Pour to name a couple – and appease a loyal customer base at the weekly Lafayette Farmers & Artisans Market at the Horse Farm. Excited but not destructively anxious to immediately pounce upon their initial success, Augello and Broussard hope to make further inroads on shelves in the area as they continue their search for the ideal downtown Lafayette storefront. “Anything that doesn’t scare the crap out of you probably isn’t worth doing,” Augello says. “So yeah, I left a comfortable position with job security, and there was, of course, hesitation. It was like leaving a family, that’s what Jolie’s had become. And that’s what I want Bread and Circus to become. Right now, it’s Abi and I doing everything – jarring, packaging, labeling. So it’s a small family and we’re making it work.” Yeah, about family. Augello and Broussard were high school

sweethearts who later wove their professional and personal lives together throughout their eight-year relationship, the last four spent as husband and wife. They were always thinking up ideas. Some flourished, some faded as nothing more than talk, and some – like Bread and Circus – came to fruition after their 2011 separation. From a distance, executing a business plan with your ex seems like an unfathomable juxtaposition that only becomes clearer once you peer through the kaleidoscope of culinary capitalism. The most common misconception, as Broussard so eloquently shares, is that “people think that we must be bumpin’ uglies or something.” Not the case. This is about bottom lines. Still, it persists. Just the other week, one of the farmers they buy produce from lit up when the duo show up together. Did they reconcile? No, Broussard assured him, this is just business. “The dynamic between us two is, to us, simple,” Augello says. “We get asked about this every time we meet someone, because it makes people awkward. ‘Wait, you guys still like each other?’” Broussard interjects. “We’re supposed to hate each other because we were once married to each other,” she says. “But that’s the thing: We were married. So there must have been something I liked. There was a reason. I mean, he’s a real shitty husband.” Augello laughs. Broussard continues, “But he’s a great friend, a great business partner and a great father – just needs help in the husband department.” As far as food, well, that’s a different story. The son of a chef, Augello’s ambitious menu at Jolie’s won him attention beyond the Acadiana triangle and a legion of devotees within it. Noting that, though, Augello struggled on just when and where to launch the Bread and Circus line and whether anyone would care enough to splurge on items used solely to accent a meal or dish. After months of tinkering, Augello finally felt comfortable enough to set up a makeshift debut at the weekly Horse Farm market. “We thought, let’s give it a shot: peddle some of our goods and see what happens,’” Broussard says. “We actually didn’t think anyone would want to buy our stuff” Augello interrupts. “Yeah, if we got a few people, we’d have been happy,” she says. “We figure it was a chance to get our products out there, get some feedback and exposure,” Augello says, “and see if we were onto something or not.” They were. Bread and Circus sold out of condiments in two hours. “When we ran out, people wanted to buy the boxes we put stuff in,” Broussard says as Augello laughs. “And we thought ‘Wow.’ We knew we had a good product, but what we were unsure of was whether Lafayette wanted it. And they do. They really do. We care about the ingredients that go in these condiments and they cared about that, too.” ap www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

sur le menu

Best Bakery die-hards, of course, believe its French bread to be the best for poor boys, toast and croutons. Their shoe soles, a buttery, sweet crispy, flakey pastry is also a favorite. “A shoe sole and a cup of coffee is heaven,” Wilson says. Around Mardi Gras, they make a real brioche King Cake that people line up to purchase. The rest of the year, they sell it as brioche. “The French bread is divine,” says Yvonne Bell of Lafayette. “Best Bakery is a part of our Mardi Gras tradition. The parades there start a week ahead of us and we go every year. No barricades! It’s an old-fashioned bakery with glass counters filled with confections and breads. They sell till they run out.”

Champagne’s Breaux Bridge Bakery

These bakeries are the bread and butter of Acadiana. by jan risher If there weren’t enough good reasons to gravitate toward freshly baked bread, a 2012 study shows that the intoxicating aroma has more than just the power to make your mouth water. Researchers at the University of Southern Brittany in France say that just the smell of freshly baked bread can make you a kinder person. They found that shoppers were more likely to alert a random passerby of dropping an item, if, at the time, they were also passing a bakery giving off the sweet scent of baking bread. Their findings suggest that certain smells can prompt a more positive mood and lead to greater humanity in strangers. As if we don’t need more reasons to go to bakeries throughout Acadiana. The old-time hometown bakeries that dot Acadiana’s main streets and town squares are a nod to the region’s French heritage. In France, they say the distinguishing factor between one bakery and another is the baker’s sweat. Whatever creates the nuances and differences in Acadiana’s bread and bakeries, they continue to be community icons. As so much in this world changes so fast, the 66

bakeries’ faithful have deep-seated and heartfelt allegiance to the consistent flavors, textures, tastes and smells of their favorite bakery.

Bertinot’s Best Bakery 996 W. Tunnel Blvd., Houma (985) 872-6208 Around 1948, Best Bakery got its start in Houma. Through the years, they’ve come to be the only bakery left selling the slightly sweet yellow rolls that originate in Houma more than 100 years ago. The dough is called Chix de Femme – due to its resemblance to a lady’s bun hairstyle. But Best Bakery is known and loved for much more than its yellow rolls. “Best Bakery has French bread that I still crave and prefer even after having some of the best bread I’ve ever eaten here in Lafayette, and really, from all over the world,” says Prissy Wilson of Lafayette. “It’s the perfect French bread – crispy, crispy crust, with a light chewy bread in the middle. Mama would melt real butter, lightly sauté minced garlic in a small skillet (for dipping) and place it on the table with our meals.”

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105 S. Poydras St., Breaux Bridge (337) 332-1117 Way back in 1888, the Champagne family started baking and selling bread in Breaux Bridge. In 1910, their shop became a full service bakery. It’s been in the same location owned by the same family since it opened. Though he wasn’t going there when it opened, Sam Irwin, of Baton Rouge, has been a Breaux Bridge Bakery patron for as long as he can remember. “I was lucky as a kid because the Breaux Bridge Bakery was on my school route. Whether I rode my bike, walked or drove, it was an easy stop to get chocolate éclairs, cream puffs of cookie,” Irwin recalls. “My favorite was the pecan drops. Mr. and Mrs. Champagne also had photographs on the wall of the brides and grooms cutting their most memorable wedding cakes. It was a pictorial history of Breaux Bridge.” Of course, Champagne’s Breaux Bridge Bakery has been selling to-die-for French bread for more than a century. “The French bread was always delicious,” Irwin said. “Sometimes I’d see Sidney or Maurice Champagne come out of the bakery into the showroom in their baker’s caps. They have flour sprinkled here and there on their white T-shirts, hats and faces. Sidney’s son, Sonny (I don’t know what his real name is) runs the place now.”

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champagne’s breaux

sur le menu

bridge bakery

Sidney’s son’s real name is Paul Champagne, who is following in his forefather’s footsteps. Irwin says he started going to Breaux Bridge Bakery on his own – either on his bike or on foot when he was in the second grade. “Mr. Champagne was a pigeon fancier and showed his pigeons. There was a whole wall of his red, white and blue ribbons prizes,” Irwin says. “His pigeonniere was behind his house on Poydras Street, as was his bakery.” The smell of baking bread creates nostalgia in almost all of us.

LeJeune’s Bakery Inc. 1510 Main St., Jeanerette (337) 276-5690 LeJeune’s Bakery has been serving French bread and gingercakes, along with a variety of other baked goods since 1884, when Oscar LeJeune opened its doors. All these years later through five generations of LeJeunes, LeJeune’s Bakery is still sitting on Jeanerette’s Main street as an Iberia Parish institution. In 2003, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. These days, Matthew LeJeune is at its helm. Under his leadership, the bakery is still satisfying customers. “You can’t beat LeJeune’s French bread, whether you are having po-boys or just a slice with a pat of butter,” said Christine Payton of Delcambre. “When driving through Jeanerette, you can smell when the bread is baking and you know when it’s done if the red light is shining on the front of the bakery — it’s the same great bakery it’s been since it opened long ago.”

Poupart’s Bakery & Bistro 1902 W. Pinhook Road, Lafayette (337) 232-7921 As one Lafayette foodie replied when asked about area bakeries, “Is there any other bakery but Poupart’s for bread? I hadn’t noticed.” When it comes to traditional French bread in Lafayette, though there are several good bakeries with a variety of breads, Poupart’s is the gold standard. Their array of desserts isn’t bad, either. 68

Julie Calzone of Lafayette says she’s been going to Poupart’s since she moved to Louisiana from New York. At that time, she was happy to have found an authentic bakery with something familiar to her. “There are so many things I love about Poupart’s – bread, French classics and cakes. But I am Italian, and it is tiramisu, cannolis and Italian cream cake that steal my soul.”

Ruddock’s Bakery 556 N.E. Court Circle, Crowley (337) 783-2962 Whether it’s doughnuts, rolls or sand tarts, Ruddock’s Bakery is Crowley is a tradition revered by many. Patti Broussard, who grew up in Crowley and currently lives in Broussard, represents many when she says, “I have lots of memories of Ruddock’s throughout my life – fresh hot doughnuts on Sunday mornings before church, the sweet ladies who worked in the bakery for years and years, who knew your name and family, free sugar cookies with sprinkles

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to every child who entered the door and pocketbook rolls, wallet-shaped homemade rolls served by the dozen. The rolls are delicious plain or buttered with your favorite jelly.”

T-Sue’s Bakery 1046 A Henderson Hwy., Breaux Bridge (337) 228-2492 T-Sue’s Bakery, another bakery in the Breaux Bridge area that can take you back in time, has been open for 35 years. Bonnie Hession of Lafayette, wishes she could see T-Sue’s bakery light from the interstate. As with bakery loyalists the world over, those who favor T-Sue’s believe it to serve “the best French bread in the world.” “When I do stop by to buy French bread, I only make it home to Lafayette with crumbs in my seat. It’s so good that it’s sinful. I just know that I leave happy every time that I stop for French bread.” But T-Sue’s is about more than French bread, they are also known for their fruit pies and chocolate éclairs. ap photo courtesy champagne’s breaux bridge bakery

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visiter

Around Acadiana: Gatherings, carnivals and activities around Acadiana. Compiled by judi russell OCTOBER

1-5 Beaureguard Parish Fair. Beaureguard Parish Fairgrounds, DeRidder. (337) 462-3135.

4-5 Opelousas Spice & Music Festival. South City Park, Opelousas.

(337) 948-5227.

4-6 Tour de Teche IV – Louisiana’s Paddle Adventure Canoe Race.

Port Barre to Berwick Civic Complex, Berwick. (337) 394-6232.

5 14th Annual Franklin Merchants Association Harvest Moon Festival.

Main Street, Franklin. (337) 828-3706. 5 Caddyshack Golf Tournament. Atchafalaya Golf Course, Patterson.

(985) 395-4653.

5-6 Roberts Cove Germanfest. Roberts Cove, Rayne.

info@robertscovegermanfest.com.

6 Berwick Lighthouse Festival. Front Street, Berwick. (985) 384-8858.

7 South Central Industrial Association Golf Tournament.

Atchafalaya Golf Course, Patterson. (985) 395-4653. Roberts Cove Germanfest

8-13 Cotton Festival. Ville Platte Cotton Festival Fairgrounds, Ville Platte. (337) 563-6367.

9-12 Jefferson Davis Parish Fair. Jefferson Davis Parish Fairgrounds,

Jennings. (337) 581-3135.

12 3rd Annual Hoodstock. Morgan City. (985) 255-0896.

10-12 Atchafalaya Catfish Festival. Melville Civic Center, Melville. (337) 623-4226. 11-13 Festival Acadiens et Creoles. Girard Park, Lafayette. info@festivalsacadiens.com 11-13 Louisiana Cattle Festival. Downtown Abbeville. (337) 652-0646. 11-13 Louisiana Gumbo Festival of Chackbay. Fairgrounds, 326 LA 304, Chackbay. (985) 633-2828.

Festival Acadiens et Creoles photo courtesy of David Simpson

11-13. World Championship Gumbo Cook-off. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 364-1836.

17-19 Rice Festival. Downtown Crowley. (337) 783-3067.

17 10th Annual Taste of Southern Louisiana Festival.

Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, Houma. (985) 851-1020.

19 Ragley Heritage & Timber Festival. 6715 LA 12, Ragley. (337) 661-3657.

19 Tailgating Cook-off & Fais Do Do. Loreauville Park, Loreauville. (337) 577-3852.

19 La Fete d’Ecologie. Lake End Park, Morgan City. (985) 447-0868.

19-20 3rd Annual Atchafalaya Championship Golf Tournment, Atchafalaya Golf

Course, Patterson. (985) 395-4653.

25-26 Black Pot Festival. Acadian Village, Lafayette. (800) 346-1958. 26 Sweet Dough Pie Festival. St. Charles Borromeo Church, Grand Couteau.

(337) 662-3058. World Championship Gumbo Cook-off

26 14th Annual Franklin Merchants Association Harvest Moon Festival.

Main Street, Franklin. (337) 828-3706.

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

26 New Iberia Beneath the Balconies. 317 E. Main St. to 102 W. Main St.,

New Iberia. (337) 364-1603. 26-27 Cajun Village Fall Festival. Cajun Village, Sorrento. (225) 675-5572. 26-27 Yellow Leaf Arts Festival. Parker Park, St. Francisville. (225) 635-3873. 26-27 Fall Arts & Crafts Festival. Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie. (225) 265-2157. 26-28 Louisiana Yambilee Festival. Yambille Fairgrounds, Opelousas. (337) 948-8848. NOVEMBER 1-3 Louisiana Swine Festival. Basile Town Park, Basile. (337) 230-1479.

Louisiana Swine Festival

1-3 21st Annual Holy Ghost Creole Bazaar. 788 N. Union St., Opelousas. (877) 948-8004.

2 Southdown Marketplace Arts & Crafts Festival. 1028 Museum Drive, Houma.

(985) 851-0154.

2 Great Chili Challenge. 300 Parkview Drive, New Iberia. (337) 365-9303.

2 Singles for Dollars Horseshoe Pitching Tournament. Kemper Williams Park,

Patterson. (985) 385-3858.

Acadiana Walk to Cure Diabetes. River Ranch – Town Square, Lafayette.

(866) 932-9511. 2-3 Giant Omelette Celebration. Historic Downtown Abbeville. (337) 344-9232. 2-3 Shadows Civil War Encampment. 317 E. Main St., New Iberia. (337) 369-6446. 2-3 Acadiana Barrel Race Association; Bayou Classic. 713 NW Bypass (Hwy. 3212), New Iberia. (337) 365-7539.

41st Rayne Frog Festival

6-10 41st Rayne Frog Festival. 206 Frog Festival Drive, Rayne. (337) 334-2332. 7-10 28th Annual Port Barre Cracklin Festival. 504 Saizan Ave., Port Barre. (337) 585-6673.

8 “If Headstones Could Talk …” Cemetery Tour. 231 S. Main St., Abbeville. (337) 740-2112.

8-10 Cut Off Youth Center Fair. 205 W. 79th St., Cut Off. (985) 632-7616. 8-10 1st St. Martinville Catfish Festival. Catfish Heaven Campground, St. Martinville. (337) 394-2233.

8 Big Boy’s Main Street Cook-Off. Downtown Thibodaux. (985) 431-9886.

9 Atchafalaya Basin Festival. Henry Guidry Park, Henderson. (337) 205-2443.

9 Delcambre Seafood & Farmers Market. 409 E. Main St., Delcambre. (337) 981-2364.

9 Thibodaux Fall Festival. Downtown Thibodaux. (985) 446-1187.

9 Southern Soul Food Showdown. 7304 E. Hwy. 90, Jeanerette. (337) 365-8185.

9 Great Bayou Teche Dog Paddle. Down Bayou Teche at Parc des Ponts de Pont

Great Bayou Teche Dog Paddle

Breaux in Breaux Bridge. (337) 394-6232. 9 Rootstock. Beaver Park Baseball Fields, Lafayette. www.lafolkroots.org 9-10 Family FunFest & 5K Run. 7856 Main St., Houma. (985) 873-9622. 9-10 Destrehan Plantation Festival. 13034 River Road, Destrehan. (985) 764-9315.

11 Veteran’s Day Memorial Ceremony. 102 W. Main St., New Iberia. (337) 365-1428.

16 El Festival Espanol de Nueva Iberia. 102 W. Main St., New Iberia. (337) 369-2330.

don’t see your event? go to acadianaprofile.com to submit.

16-17 National Barrel Race Association. 713 NW Bypass (Hwy. 3212), New Iberia. (337) 365-7539. 30-DEC 23 Noel Acadien au Village. 20 Greenleaf Drive, Lafayette. (337) 981-2364.

ap www.acadianaprofile.com | october/november 2013

en français, s’il vous plaît

Qu’estce qu’un Créole? par david cheramie C’est une question qui semble avoir autant de réponses que de monde qui répond. Une interminable discussion typique autour d’une table recouverte des vieilles gazettes et des boisseaux de crabes peut se mettre en route avec des questions telles que : Qui était le meilleur quarterback de LSU?, ou, Où est la meilleure place pour acheter du boudin? Les gens vont discuter pendant des heures sans jamais trouver un consensus. Pourtant, les débats les plus passionnés, et souvent les moins bien informés, tournent souvent autour de la question, Qu’est-ce qu’un Créole? On peut dire que le mot créole est né d’un malheur. Son origine exacte est disputée autant que sa signification. Certains disent qu’il vient de l’espagnol criollo, selon Les Commentaires royaux de Garcilaso de la Vega de 1609. « Les enfants des Espagnols qui sont nés aux Indes sont appelés criollo ou criolla ; les nègres donnaient ce nom aux enfants qui leur étaient nés aux Indes, pour les distinguer de ceux qui étaient nés dans la Guinée.... les Espagnols ont emprunté d’eux ce nom. » Le dictionnaire Littré défini créole comme « un homme blanc ou une femme blanche originaires des colonies. » Littré dispute l’origine latine de créole, du verbe creare ou créer, car « si on le fait venir de l’espagnol criar, élever, nourrir, la formation est tout à fait irrégulière ; d’autres prétendent que c’est un mot caraïbe ; l’Académie espagnole dit que c’est un mot inventé par les conquérants des Indes occidentales et transmis par eux. » D’autres disent que le terme est plus ancien et s’appliquait uniquement aux esclaves noirs qui sont nés dans les colonies pour les distinguer de ceux qui sont arrivés directement de l’Afrique. Quoi qu’il en soit, le mot créole a été forgé au creuset 72

du colonialisme, de l’esclavage et de ce que Charles C. Mann appelle « le nouveau monde créé par Cristobal Colón », c’est-à-dire la rencontre de l’Afrique et l’Europe en Amérique. On sait qu’en Louisiane avant la Guerre des Confédérés, les gens se divisaient en trois : les Blancs, les Noirs et les Gens de couleur libres. Dans cette dernière, il y avait d’autres sous-divisions d’une complexité étonnante. Pour se différencier des « Américains » d’origine anglo-saxonne, les Blancs d’origine française ou espagnole se disaient Créoles. Dans un sens stricte, ils étaient tous des Créoles : Noirs, Blancs ou entre les deux, ils sont tous nés au Nouveau Monde, sans parler des Amérindiens qui s’y mêlaient aussi. Cependant, il y a une différence qui fait que les Créoles viennent d’une expérience partagée. Il suffit de dire que, de manière générale, les Blancs et les Gens de couleur libres avaient quelque chose en commun qu’ils ne partageaient pas avec les Noirs : la liberté. Quoique d’une classe intermédiaire entre les deux autres et donc d’un niveau socialement inférieur, les Gens de couleurs n’étaient pas la propriété de quelqu’un d’autre. C’était dans cet espace de liberté que la culture créole, chez les Blancs tout comme chez les Gens de couleur, s’est

october/november 2013 | www.acadianaprofile.com

développée en Louisiane. Il est vrai que certains Blancs étaient réduits en état de servitude, certains Gens de couleur libres possédaient des esclaves et quelques Noirs n’étaient pas esclaves. Après la guerre, les Gens de couleur libres, malgré la fusion dans la catégorie de Noirs, ont gardé le souvenir de leur passé prestigieux et l’ont perpétué. Les relations douloureuses entre les gens de cette période qui va de Jim Crow jusqu’au mouvement des droits civiques ont créé de nouvelles divisions. À tort, petit à petit, les Blancs francophones sont devenus tous Cadiens, même s’ils ont très peu ou pas d’ancêtres acadiens, et tous les Noirs francophones sont devenus des Créoles. Notre histoire nous dit que ce n’est pas si simple. On ferait bien de se rappeler que même si on se dit Cadien, on est quelque part Créole aussi. Aujourd’hui, créole est une culture, une approche à la vie et un sens spécial de famille et de communauté plus que la quantité de mélanine qu’on a reçu avec ses chromosomes. C’est une sensibilité qui dépasse les souffrances d’autrefois pour accoucher d’un agrément et d’une compréhension sans pareille de la condition humaine. Être créole, c’est la liberté. ap

for an english translation , visit www . acadianaprofile . com . illustration by sarah george; original painting “creole in a red turban” by jacques guillaume lucien amans (1801–1888)