Page 21 - och0417_Magazine

Regional Favorites

Authentic Food for the

RAGIN’ CAJUNS

ith a dining hall that overlooks a man-made
Wswamp on campus, it is safe to say that the
food at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
better be authentic.
“There are three really big things that are im-
portant to Acadiana (the region we are in): really
good people, really good music and really good
food,” said Ed Daugherty, general manager of Din-
ing Services, with Sodexo, the campus foodservice
provider. “Lafayette has around 300 restaurants. I have probably Naturally, local ingredients are always on the menu. “Our
eaten at 180 of them.” ground beef for the burgers in the dining hall, and all of our
Students at the school know Cajun food. “If you came to locations, is from Thibodeaux, which is about an hour and a
Lafayette and go out for lunch, you could get a big plate of half down the road,” said Turnage. “We use local bread for Po’
food for $8 in about 100 places here and they know that,” he boys. Of course, we use all the staples like Tabasco, which
said. “So when they go out to eat, they are trained. Everybody is a local ingredient for us, and Tony Chachere’s seasoning,
cooks here; so men, women, kids, you start stirring a pot when which is also local. We use a lot of seafood. We use a lot of
you are young. Everybody has a high standard for what great product that is indigenous to the region, but also support the
food is. They do tell us if things aren’t up to their expectations.” local businesses here, too.”
To help meet student expectations, As proof that the school uses a lot of sea-
Daugherty brought in two chefs with Ca- food, Daugherty said that at a recent Lagniappe
jun credentials. “I went out and got a local Day celebration, they went through 18,000
executive chef named Jason LeBouef,” he pounds of crawfish in two hours. “We do a lot
said. “His parents own a small lunch place. of festivals,” he said. “Last weekend, we had
I brought Wes [Turnage, CEC, CCA, CCE, a Boudin [Cajun sausage] Festival — three
FMP, executive chef of Dining Services] days and nothing but just great boudin. We
in about a year ago from Baton Rouge, also source that locally. Cracklins are really
where he had experience with Cajun food. popular here. Chef Wes does a lot of great
It was really important to our school that we stuff with cracklins. It is an amazing town.”
have better food than any other restaurant Cajun items end up in all areas of campus
in town.” dining from catering to concessions. “We
The authenticity is assured by a food have crawfish nachos,” said Daugherty. “We
committee with faculty and staff. “We do have a signature sandwich called the Swamp
about 10 items at a time and we do taste Thing. It is huge; it has fried boudin, fried
panels,” said Daugherty. “Jason and Wes green tomatoes, shrimp and a crawfish cheese
produce the food. They come out, we taste sauce on top. Everything we do, we try to
it, and we vote on what we like and what have a touch of Cajun flavor through all of
we feel is best for this region.” our core business.”

ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY APRIL 2017 | 21