How we began cooking Louisiana cuisine in Paris
Louisiana is the birthplace of a regional American cuisine as rich and as complex as its European counterparts. Unique to the New World, this cuisine evolved from two distinct cultures and populations, both of French origin: the Creoles and the Cajuns.
The term "Creole" originally referred to descendants of the French aristocracy established in the New World French colonies of Louisiana or in the Caribbean. White at first, and now mixed-race, the Creole society is as disparate as the whole of America.
The "Cajuns" (deformation of "Acadian") were refugees from the former French colony of Acadia, now Nova Scotia, deported to Louisiana when the English took control of the region in the eighteenth century. They have mixed very little and maintain a unique culture, concentrated in southwest Louisiana, and as different from the rest of America as it is possible to be and still remain on the continent. Today, these two very different cuisines, enriched by African, Spanish, Italian and German cultures, are united as Louisiana Cuisine.
We fell in love with the cuisine, culture, and people of Louisiana in 1996 while investigating regional American cuisines for our American restaurant near the Seine River in Paris. The restaurant opened in 1993 above our American grocery shop, serving specialties from different areas of the US—Amish Scrapple, Carolina Pulled Pork, Minnesota Wild Rice, Texas-style Chili con Carne, Maryland Crabcakes, NYC deli standards like pastrami, cole slaw, and potato salad; Nebraska free-range beef, Oregon hot-smoked salmon, Burgoo from the hill country, Jambalaya and Gumbos, for lunch and brunch. But as the menu evolved it became more and more difficult to procure the ingredients necessary to maintain an authentic bouquet of cuisines, and so we decided to concentrate on southern US cuisine, and in particular Acadian, or Cajun.
We transferred the grocery store next door into a recently-vacated space, and extended the restaurant space into what had been the shop on Rue St. Paul and opened for dinner. As we were already well-known in Paris we kept the name Thanksgiving, but informally called the restaurant "Bayou la Seine". Bayou means river in the Cajun dialect, derived from the Choctaw Indian "bayuk"; and as we were located two blocks from the Seine river, in the former Parisian swamp, the Marais, it just felt right.
Courtbouillon, Etouffées, Boudin, Crawfish Pies and Boils and appeared on our ever-changing menus; soon we found ourselves "cajunizing" traditional French dishes such as Cassoulet (we used red beans instead of white, with Cajun spices), Hachis Parmentier (sweet potatoes instead of white) and Gratin Dauphinoise, kicked up a notch by introducing cayenne pepper, paprika, and cumin. The Creole influence in Louisiana cuisine we represented by including Caribbean ingredients such as crab, certain spices, and African vegetables in modern French as well as traditional Louisiana Creole fare.
Cooking regional cuisine many thousands of miles from its origins is a constant challenge to find the balance between authentic and "best" - do you include an imported product for authenticity's sake, or choose a superior fresh local product that might be a notch off in desired flavor or texture? What developed from this collaboration between our French and American sensibilities and the realities of producing an affordable menu was an authentic Louisiana-based cuisine seasoned with a little French finesse and a soupçon of international flavor.
This was a remarkable project that engrossed us for thirteen years, but by 2006 we felt that we'd accomplished what we'd set out to do. We consolidated our two locales into the original Rue St. Paul address, the grocery store once again on the ground floor and the restaurant upstairs, opening only for weekend brunch and special events (such as a three day long Thanksgiving dinner), where we continue to serve a combination of classic American and Louisiana dishes. From time to time, someone asks us to create an evening or a mid-day meal for a group in the restaurant, and then, once again, the good times roll.
Consulting services
Specializing in showcasing American cuisine worldwide, Judith Bluysen has adapted American recipes to indigenous or easy-to-find ingredients in Europe and Africa. As consultant/chef for SUSTA, the Department of Agriculture for the state of Georgia, and the Intertribal Agricultural Council, she has also promoted American food products and cuisine in Stockholm, Brussels, Bucharest, Capetown, Johannesburg, and Paris, where she resides. She has demonstrated American cooking on French television and appeared several times on radio programs in France and in Switzerland.
In 2002 her cookbook "La Cuisine Cajun" was published by Flammarion in France and by Rizzoli in the U.S., as "Cajun: A Culinary Tour of Louisiana". More is on its way ...
20, rue Saint Paul 75004 PARIS Tel: 01 42 77 68 29
store hours: Tues-Sat 10:30am to 7:00pm, Sun 11:00am to 6:00pm
restaurant: Saturday brunch 12:00 to 2:30pm, Sunday brunch 11:00 to 3:30pm reservations recommended