2020 SFA Virtual Field Trip: Cajun Country
Ready for a road trip with the Southern Foodways Alliance? Underwritten by long time SFA donor and friend McIlhenny Company, maker of TABASCO Brand pepper sauces, our 3-part plan takes you through Cajun Country. Listen to five new stories on our Gravy podcast, use our new app to plan your next road trip, and explore the new oral histories we’re adding to our collection.
PODCAST
Available May 14. The SFA and producer Sarah Holtz offer you an audio tour of Cajun Country via the Gravy podcast. We explore boudin served at gas stations, the tradition of the Lenten Fish Fry, a Venezuelan restaurant that is a hub for Lafayette’s LatinX community, a Donaldsonville tale about finding extraordinary things in ordinary places, and Lebanese cooking amidst jambalaya culture. Click on the episodes to listen or, better yet, subscribe to the Gravy podcast via your podcast player.
Ten Gallons and a Bag of Cracklins: Filling Up in Cajun Country
Hear how Cajun Country gas stations are often known more for their boudin, sausage, and cracklin offerings than anything else. They are food destinations more than filling stations.
The Miracle of Slaw and Fishes: Louisiana’s Lenten Fish Fries
Fridays during Lent, Catholic churches across Acadiana host fish fries. They are not only fundraisers, but also social events.
Nuevo Acadiana: A Taste of Venezuela at Patacón
Like Acadiana, Venezuela is an oil center. When the Lugo family opened Patacon Latin Cuisine in Lafayette, it quickly became a hub for the LatinX community and the go-to place for arepas.
Two Tales of Donaldsonville: True Friends & The Chance Café
In the south Louisiana town of Donaldsonville, two families, the Quezaires and the Savoia-Guillots, unearthed their own time capsules of local history within family keepsakes. These two archives tell the story of a town with a complicated past.
Cajun Kibbe: Eating Lebanese in Louisiana
In a 1983 cookbook, The Best of South Louisiana Cooking, you’ll find recipes like fattoush, kibbe, and lentil salad sprinkled among the expected Cajun staples. The cookbook illustrates Lebanese emigration from Lebanon to Lafayette as early as the 1880s.
APP
Available July 7. Make SFA Stories, an app for Android and iOS phones, your running buddy through Cajun Country. The app showcases SFA’s documentary work. Looking for your next link of boudin? Search by keyword. Or just browse SFA’s films, podcasts, and oral histories. Plan a road trip with the new mapping feature (more on that later). We begin in Louisiana and add other states over time. For now, we suggest Cajun Country, where we focus our summer field trip. Thanks to the generosity of Tabasco Brand pepper sauces, this app is free for all users.
ORAL HISTORY
Available July 7. SFA debuts Sustainable South Louisiana, our latest oral history project. Rien Fertel and Denny Culbert introduce the oystermen, butchers, restaurateurs, and farmers who sustain and innovate Cajun foodways.