ASHLEY ROBICHAUX

MEET

FOR THIS CAJUN, FOOD IS A LABOR OF LOVE

written by JULIE KOERBER photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

EDITOR’S NOTE: In our July/August issue, we asked for reader nominations to help us choose a cover story for our Holiday Issue. After receiving upwards of 40 nominees, Ashley Robichaux, owner of Cajun Phatty’s, was chosen.

ASHLEY ROBICHAUX fondly remembers her years growing up in the heart of Cajun country. She loved when September rolled around and the Sugarcane Festival took over the streets of her hometown — New Iberia, Louisiana (the same city where Tabasco hot sauce is made). The fest paid homage to the tall stalks grown in the area that still sweeten the South Louisiana economy.

During the festival, Ashley recalls her relatives — dozens upon dozens of them — setting up camp on the family’s property, grabbing their boil pots and smoke pits to celebrate with an allout Cajun feast. Above all the flavorful seasonings and untold pounds of crawfish and shrimp, food meant community.

“Food is just a feeling. It’s a feeling of comfort,” Ashley says. “It brings everybody together, always.”

Community is exactly what Ashley sought to create when she opened Cajun Phatty’s 10 years ago, operating at first out of a tent at special events, then moving to a food truck before setting up at her current restaurant. She laughs as she tells you how the name came about — from her grandson, Koston. “When he was a baby, he had the fattest little legs.” To make authentic Cajun cuisine, Ashley not only uses ingredients flown up from Louisiana, but taps into cherished family recipes that she’s put her own twist on over the years. Every flavor she shares is a labor of love.

Saturday mornings are the only day Ashley whips up brunch specials. Her French toast, made with slices of her bread pudding, gets rave reviews and requires, as Ashley says, “a pair of fat pants” to properly enjoy. While the kitchen bustles, in the corner of the small but mighty restaurant, Dylan Petit strums on his guitar, serenading guests as Ashley peeks out of the kitchen.

“Flour is your jewelry,” her sister Phyllis Ditto tells Ashley with a laugh. Ashley brushes it off her Cajun Phatty’s T-shirt as her two sisters and niece nibble on the powdered-sugar-covered beignets at the center of the table. The fried and sugary dough is a New Orleans favorite.

“I’ve always said she’s my hero,” Phyllis adds with a more serious tone. “I’m the older sister and she’s my hero.”

Sixteen years ago, Ashley was given what she then considered a death sentence. After suffering from bouts of dizziness, slurred speech and distorted vision, a doctor confirmed she was in the advanced stages of multiple sclerosis.

“When I was first diagnosed, they told me that I would be in a wheelchair within a year,” Ashley says. “I had so many lesions on my brain.” At the time, she was a single mom of two. Her kids, son Gunnar and daughter Caemin, were her life. “When you first get diagnosed, you mourn because of what you don’t think will happen in your life. Then, one day I told myself, ‘I’m living to live.

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"Definitely go there. I felt comfortable the whole time I was there. I never felt pressured into anything as I was given explanations and information about my options. " Free Pregnancy Tests | Ultrasounds | STI Testing 32 YVW MAGAZINE

YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW I am not living to die.’” At the time of her diagnosis, she was a successful restaurant consultant who helped open luxury properties all over the South. She’s rubbed elbows with celebrity

YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW chefs Don Pintabona of New York’s Tribeca Grill and Nick Mautone of Gramercy Tavern. On the brink of opening a new restaurant in Louisiana, Ashley was urged to quit her job and file for disability. “I was devastated,” Ashley says. “I told my doctor, ‘If you make me do that, you are tying my hands for life.’” While Ashley’s doctor couldn’t get her to slow down,

YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW working in the southern heat did. Higher temperatures and humidity did a number on her disease, causing flare-ups when the temperature rose. That’s when Billings started to call Ashley’s name. Her sister, Phyllis, had called the city home for decades. Her sister, Marla, had recently made the move. Eventually, Ashley and her husband, Shane, along with her mom, Jerry, packed up their belongings and moved to Billings. It was a family reunion in a spot where the heat wasn’t unbearable all year long. Leaving her career in the restaurant industry behind, Ashley knew she couldn’t stay idle for long. She started running a food business out of a tent at local events. That was how Cajun Phatty’s was born. For those first few years, she and her sister, Phyllis, along with a few close friends hustled to bring a little southern hospitality to Billings. “I wish I wore a pedometer during those days. We were running,” Phyllis YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER YVW CHOOSE OUR YVW CHOOSE YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! says today. “She wanted to come to Montana and teach these people how to eat Cajun food.” After realizing there was more business than a modest tent could support, “I told my husband, I am going to buy a food truck.” Ashley says, “’He told me, have you lost your mind?’” She ended up buying a food truck sight unseen. If you’re wondering how the trailer got its well-known graffiti-covered paint job, there’s a story behind it. Ashley was on a tour of the Tumbleweed Runaway Program when some graffiti art done by one of Tumbleweed’s clients caught her eye. “One of the artists, his work was on the wall and I said, ‘Oh my, this is great! Do you think he would want to graffiti my trailer? It’s a paying job.’” After the young man got arrested for illegal graffiti, a few more graffiti artists stepped up. “Four people painted the trailer. You can tell how one bit of work is a little different from the other,” Ashley says. “The kids were so proud of it. They tagged the bottom of the trailer and every time I would have an event downtown, they’d point to it to show their friends.”

ASHLEY'S AUNT PEGGY

Over the years, Ashley thought of changing the graffiti out and brightening up the trailer. But she has not been able to bring herself to do it. The young man who sparked the idea in Ashley’s mind has since died.

“How can I take his work off the trailer when he was the reason why we started all of that to begin with?” she says with emotion.

When Cajun Phatty’s first rolled onto Billings streets, there were only a handful of food trucks on the scene. She’d camp out at Canyon Creek Brewery nightly, hiring people to serve as wait staff and loading her truck with three cooks to keep up with the crowd. Eventually, word about her flavor of cooking spread and it was wheels up for the Cajun Phatty’s food truck, hitting spots all over the Billings area. business to bless as many people as I can,” Ashley says.

And bless people she has. Since launching her business in 2012, she estimates, she’s given away more than $350,000 in food to those in need. When the Lodgepole Complex Fire broke out in the summer of 2017, Ashley joined forces with a handful of food trucks to raise money for relief.

“In four hours, we raised $25,000,” Ashley says. Just weeks later, she raised $6,000 out of her truck to send back to Louisiana after it was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey. There have been countless efforts over the years. Most recently, she loaded up her food truck to help after floods devastated the Red Lodge, Fromberg and Bridger areas. She knew the heartbreak that comes with property loss of that kind.

“This one hit close to the heart because I lost a home to a hurricane,” she says.

She put out a Facebook message to her customers letting them know she’d be headed that way if they wanted to donate supplies. The response was overwhelming.

“When I got to the restaurant, I knew we had to close,” Ashley says. The restaurant was so packed with donations, her staff couldn’t move. “We closed the business and I started cooking big pots of spaghetti.” Two businesses donated moving trucks to help her get all the supplies from her restaurant to places in need. Ashley ended up parking her truck at the school in Fromberg. “There were tears. People were overwhelmed. I stayed there for three days and cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for them.”

L TO R: MARLA LONG, ASHLEY ROBICHAUX, PHYLLIS DITTO & MORGAN DITTO-KIRKWOOD

“She showed up at our truck one day, a competitor, and she was so warm and welcoming,” Mary Beth says, and the pair are still friends today. “Ashley is out to change the world. The amount she gives to the community is incredible. More than once I’ve heard her say, ‘We don’t have a lot to give, but I can feed people.’ That’s the kind of person she is.”

Five years ago, it became clear that Cajun Phatty’s business had outgrown its humble food truck. After dabbling briefly with a space at Rimrock Mall, a spot in the 2500 block of King Avenue West opened up five years ago and became a permanent home for Ashley’s cooking.

To understand Ashley’s love of food, all you have to do is ask her about her South Louisiana roots.

“If you’re a Cajun cook, there are two things you need to learn immediately,” she says. “You need to learn how to make a roux and how to make rice and gravy.” She remembers as a teen learning at the stove with her Aunt Peggy by her side. “I struggled to get my meat brown enough to make a rustic gravy. She would sit there and practice with me.”

She remembers her aunt fondly.

“She had a tragic life,” Ashley says, relating how an accident left one of her aunt’s hands paralyzed.

“She only had one functional hand and she could peel crawfish faster than anyone,” Phyllis says. “Everyone loved Aunt Peggy and there was nothing she loved more than her family and food.”

Many believe Ashley got her giving spirit from her Aunt Peggy.

“I am like her in so many ways,” Ashley says reflectively. “She gave and she gave and just when you thought she gave enough, she gave again.”

Years ago, Ashley learned of the nonprofit community restaurant JBJ Soul Kitchen, owned by musician Jon Bon Jovi. There, diners eat and pay what they can. One of the underlying philosophies is “Happy are the hands that feed.” Ashley fell in love with the concept, and, after a lot of faith, she started her quarterly “Pay What You Can Afford-ward” days at Cajun Phatty’s. On those days, the menus come without prices. says. The only group of people who don’t pay a thing are veterans, not only for this event but on Veterans Day as well.

“Our veterans are awfully proud and they don’t really like it,” Ashley says. “They will ask, ‘Really, how much will it cost me?’ and I tell them, ‘Don’t take my blessings away. I can’t give you what you gave me, but I can cook for you.’” When they fight her, she will tell them, “I walk around free every day. That can’t happen if someone isn’t willing to fight for me to be free. Let me do this for you.”

Last March, Pay What You Can Affordward landed on what could have been the busiest day of Ashley’s year — Mardi Gras. Hundreds of customers lined up around the building.

“Some people were waiting two hours to eat. It was just insane,” Ashley says. “We had to shut down at 7:30 for dinner because we were out of food.” Still, she wouldn’t have had it any other way. “It’s just a feel-good day. Yeah, we lose money, but I get rewarded in other ways tenfold.”

If you ask her employees what makes Ashley’s business a success, they will tell you it’s because to her, it’s so much more than a business.

MARY BETH BEAULIEU AND ASHLEY

ASHLEY IS OUT TO CHANGE THE WORLD. THE AMOUNT SHE GIVES TO THE COMMUNITY IS INCREDIBLE. MORE THAN ONCE I’VE HEARD HER SAY, ‘WE DON’T HAVE A LOT TO GIVE, BUT I CAN FEED PEOPLE.’ THAT’S THE KIND OF PERSON SHE IS. — Mary Beth Beaulieu

OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! HOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! WINNER! YVW CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! COVER WINNER! OUR COVER WINNER! CHOOSE OUR COVER WINNER! sure their needs are met,” employee Sarah Piret says. Her people are pretty much everyone who walks in her door. “She knows their names. She knows their kids’ names. She knows where they are from. She knows their family. It’s personal. It’s not just business for Ashley, it’s personal,” adds Missy Parker, whose worked at Cajun Phatty’s for about two years. Everyone who picks up an apron in this restaurant becomes, as Ashley puts it, family. If an employee works hard, comes to work on time and follows what she calls her duty list, she will write a bonus check each month to help her workers with rent and gas. “The way she takes care of people. That’s a genuine and authentic personality trait that not a lot of people work into their business,” says Ashley’s niece, Morgan Ditto-Kirkwood. “And, when she has an idea in her mind, move out of the way. She’s coming.” Today, Cajun Phatty’s is bursting at the seams, beating previous years’ sales records left and right. “Last year, I was so excited. We did 102,000 dishes out of the restaurant — a restaurant that seats 36 people,” Ashley says. “That’s where it blows me away.” She’d expand her current restaurant if she could to house a larger kitchen. She’d love space to dabble in the new concept of creating a ghost kitchen. It’s a concept where you have a number of businesses under one roof, utilizing the same kitchen and staff, but the ghost kitchen’s items are solely for carry out. She has already dreamt up 12 different concepts that she could launch if only she had a larger kitchen. She looked at both the former Pier One and the old Golden Corral buildings and dreamt of having a number of businesses under one roof with patio dining during warm weather months, but the numbers didn’t pan out. “I’ve tiptoed with everything we’ve done so far instead of just diving in,” Ashley says. “I’ve had five years to decide how this business is going to go. It needs to grow.” For now, she’ll continue to serve up Louisiana crawfish, shrimp and alligator and let the other ideas continue to simmer. “I’ve always been a big dreamer and I believe anything is possible,” she says. “It’s what keeps me going. It’s what keeps me healthy. My doctor says this is the best medicine for me.” As her day wraps up, Ashley can often be seen hugging a customer as they get ready to head out the door. She’ll tell you it’s all a part of doing what she says she does best — dreaming, loving on people, and as she says, “Sometimes getting them fat!” “If you’re my friend,” she says, “You’re my friend for life. That’s just the way it is.” ✻ VIST CAJUN PHATTY’S at 2564 King Ave. W. or check out their menu online at cajun-phattys.com.

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Congratulations ashley ashley ashley For being YVW’s first ever reader nominated cover woman! Thanks Thanks Thanks to our sponsors... to our sponsors... to our sponsors... for helping make this special! for helping make this special! for helping make this special! NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 37