Louisiana Food Culture

2021 International Rice Festival in Crowley, Louisiana

2021 International Rice Festival in Crowley, Louisiana

The first Crowley rice festival was held on October 5, 1937. In that long ago day the party was known as the National Rice Festival; it was renamed the “International Rice Festival” in 1946 when the gathering was resumed after a hiatus during World War II.

Last year’s festival was cancelled in the face of the pandemic but Cajuns are nothing if not resolute and the organizers have vowed that this year’s party will be safe for all involved. It is an outdoor affair.

Jimi Madison Joubert, the young maiden who is the fairest of them all in the Crowley area, will continue to wear the crown of Rice Queen due to last year’s party being thwarted by the damnable bug.

It is believed that she is the first young lady to wear the tiara for two consecutive years.

Live music will be blasting from two stages and dozens of tables will be groaning with all manners of Cajun foodstuffs.

International Rice Festival
October 14-17, 2021
Downtown Crowley, Louisiana

Louisiana Food Culture

2021 Louisiana Public Lands Alligator Harvest

2021 Louisiana Public Lands Alligator Harvest

Alligator hunters in Louisiana have until June 30th, 2021, to apply for an alligator lottery tag.

Applications cost $7 and you may only apply one time.

Louisiana’s alligator season runs from Aug. 25th through Oct. 30th

If you’re one of the lucky hunters who wins the lottery you’ll be eligible to harvest three alligators.

Applicants must be lawful residents of Louisiana and be at least 16 years of age.

Winners must buy a $25 alligator hunting license plus pay $40 per alligator tag.

Need more information? We are here to help

Louisiana Food Culture

The Rebirth Of Hubig’s Pies (est. 1922)

The rebirth of Hubig’s Pies

Local media are in full frenzy this morning as Hubig’s Pies has announced a relaunch seven years after their old pie factory in New Orleans Marigny neighborhood burned to the ground.

You know you’re a big timer when Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards issues a press release regarding your concern’s comeback.

Hubig’s Twitter account is oddly silent on the matter. Continue Reading

Louisiana Food Culture

2019 Festival International De Louisiane Is This Weekend In Lafayette

2019 Festival International in Lafayette Louisiana

Years ago we used to drive or fly hundreds of miles to New Orleans every spring so we could attend Jazz Fest. Now that we live five minutes from the fair grounds and could easily get media passes we never even consider going. Instead we point west to the prairies of Acadiana where Festival International takes place, for free, in downtown Lafayette. Continue Reading

Louisiana Food Culture

2019 Festival International Music Lineup

2019 Festival International Music Lineup

UPDATE Festival International has now issued the calendar for the musical acts.

Acadiana’s Festival International just dropped their 2019 music lineup and as was expected it’s a good one. Remember how laid back and low key Jazzfest was in the 80s? That’s the current state of affairs in downtown Lafayette when Festival rolls through.

It’s a trip. Oh, and it’s one of the best festivals in the state for eating. Dozens of the best Cajun cooks in the region gather to vend a murderer’s row of old school hot pots filled with gumbos, jambalayas, etouffes, and courtbouillons.

Alligator is one of the chief proteins.

24 different countries are on offer for the 33rd year of Festival with Sudan’s Alsarah and the Nubatones being the first band from their country to perform at the giant party.

Cha Wa and Tank and the Bangazs represent New Orleans.

I saw Haiti’s Boukman Eksperyans play here at Armstrong Park yesterday and they’ll be flying back to Louisiana for Festival.

the lineup

Louisiana Food Culture

Learn How To Make Houma Indian Gumbo at the Chauvin Folk Art Festival

We just caught wind of a workshop out in Chauvin, Louisiana where you can learn how to make gumbo in the Houma Indian style.

This is intriguing as gumbo is one of our main points of interest in Louisiana cuisine and we have never heard of this particular technique.

We are out of town during this workshop. If you go please send us a field report with photographs.

April 7th 2019

10 am to 4 pm – festival hours. Time of gumbo demonstration TBD.

Chauvin Sculpture Garden, 5337 Bayouside Drive, Chauvin, Louisiana.

Louisiana Food Culture, Recipes

A Recipe For Smoked Turkey Jambalaya with Saint John The Baptist Andouille

A Recipe For Smoked Turkey Jambalaya with Saint John The Baptist Andouille

When we rolled out to Austin for our annual Louisiana gumbo pop up, one of our cooks gifted us with a plump, freshly-smoked Texas turkey breast. We flew that big thing back to New Orleans and made club sandwiches out of it for a few days before we had a eureka moment. Continue Reading