Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and the Louisiana Office of Tourism have deemed 2015 the “Louisiana Culinary Celebration!” With that in mind, how can I possibly diet? Plus, it’s almost Mardi Gras, so King Cakes are in no short supply and my office is directly across the street from Steamboat Bill’s on the Lake. I can practically hear the boiled crawfish calling my name every day after work.

Eating in Cajun Country means good food prepared by the people who know what to do with the bounty that nature provides.  My mom recently “borrowed” kumquats from her neighbor’s tree to make a marmalade. My brother-in-law knows a thing or two about preparing ducks and geese after the hunt. 

With seafood, everyone has their preferred methods of cooking.  You won’t find a shortage of fried foods in Southwest Louisiana restaurants! Don’t get me started on boudin. Or cracklins.

One of my favorite gumbo stories was covered recently by Michelle Winner on www.CulinaryTraveler.com mentioning Chef Lyle Broussard from Jack Daniel’s Bar & Grill®. He was telling Jay Ducote, Bite and Booze food blogger, how he knows when the roux is ready – he recalls the flavor from when he was a small child, standing on a stool with a big heaping spoon of “chocolate” on his mother’s stove.  Little did he know, the “chocolate” was actually roux! He’ll never forget that surprising taste!

Check out The Culinary Trails Taste-umentary YouTube video that celebrates the local food scene and features local restaurants at www.visitlakecharles.org/seafood. Other culinary videos can be seen on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel.

Cajun food is simple. And it’s complex. It is a conversation starter.  Food in Southwest Louisiana is filled with passion.  Don’t take my word for it- come and taste for yourself!

By Buzzy Gordon 

Thanks to the popularity of Cajun cuisine, Louisiana cooking has become world famous. And as a big fan myself, I thought I knew most of what there is to know about the food. Until I went to Southwest Louisiana for Mardi Gras, and attended the annual Gumbo Cook-Off in Lake Charles, that is.

This is nothing like any other BBQ or chili cook-off you may have ever attended. More than 50 krewes and other competing teams filled a hall of the Lake Charles Civic Center, spilling over outside adjacent to the lakefront promenade. The noise level is astounding: krewes are also competing to win the “spirit stick,” by engaging in raucous revelry.

As the smells of simmering roux start to activate the salivary glands, you begin to wish the tasting would commence. But the teams have been admonished not to serve until the judges have collected their samples. Finally, lines begin to form; and one by one, krewes begin ladling out their savory offerings. These are no measly samples: styrofoam bowls are filled to the brim with the steaming samples.

I did my best to try them all, but after 20 or so half-bowls, I had to call it quits.  But I managed to taste a bit from each category: traditional chicken and andouille sausage; seafood; and wild game. Some of the latter were quite exotic -- like pheasant and elk sausage. Alligator featured prominently, along with rabbit, and even the occasional squirrel.

While most of these mouth-watering recipes may be available to the public to eat only once a year, you'll be glad to know that the best in the professional competition -- as awarded in two of the three categories in 2014 -- comes from the kitchen of the Jack Daniel's Bar & Grill restaurant at L'Auberge Casino Resort.  Professional seafood honors went to the Krewe de Sauvage, while Krewe de Mischief danced away with the coveted Spirit Stick.

For the aspiring chefs who want to make their own gumbo, check out this "How to Make a Gumbo" video by Chef Scott Landry.

By Angie Kay Dilmore

Calling all sportsmen (and women and children, too)! On January 9-10, 2015, the coastal town of Cameron will host its annual Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival. 

This popular event has been entertaining festival-goers since 1955 and highlights duck and goose calling, retrieval dog trials, nutria and muskrat skinning, trap setting, skeet shooting, and oyster shucking competitions. 

In addition to the usual fair fare, food vendors also sell alligator sausage, jambalaya, boudin, gumbo, smoked sausage, and crawfish. 

Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com

A gumbo cook-off is also a part of the yearly festivities. Thrilling carnival rides will entertain people of all ages. The Pageant Queen, King, and attendants of the Fur and Wildlife Festival will be crowned on Friday evening.

The fun continues on all day Saturday. Sign yourself up for a morning 5K run. Stroll through the antique car show.  Watch the festival parade at 1:30 p.m.  Observe an alligator skinning demonstration at 4:30 p.m. 

The exciting musical entertainment lineup includes Bag of Donuts, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, John Dale Hebert, Water’s Edge, and Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road Runners. 

For a complete schedule of events, see the festival website, http://lafurandwildlifefestival.com. 

Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com

All events will take place on the fairgrounds located at the former Pat’s of Cameron (513 Marshall St.) in Downtown Cameron unless otherwise noted.

To read more of Angie's adventures, check out her blog, angiekaydilmore.blogspot.com.

In Southwest Louisiana, gumbo is a staple that’s cooked in big cast iron pots and stirred with large wood spoons – or boat oars, depending on how many people are being fed.  Variations of the roux-based soup include chicken and smoked sausage, shrimp and okra, wild duck and smoked sausage, even rabbit or seafood gumbo with shrimp, crab and oysters.

Gumbo is eaten year round in Southwest Louisiana, but home and professional cooks enjoy it most during the cool months of fall and winter.  It’s gumbo season, y’all!

Everyone makes their gumbo differently and the origin of “gumbo” is a melting pot, as well. The Southern Foodways Alliance put together a great oral history of the Southern Gumbo Trail that even interviews David Papania from Seafood Palace.

One of the best attended cook-offs in Southwest Louisiana is the “World Famous Cajun Extravaganza/Gumbo Cook-off” that occurs the Saturday prior to Mardi Gras at the Lake Charles Civic Center. With over 50 teams competing, there are professional and amateur categories for Wild Game, Chicken and Sausage, and Seafood Gumbos.  For $5, you can taste from event pot!

Learn how to make your own traditional chicken and sausage gumbo from Chef Scott Landry from Lake Charles, La.