DESTINATIONS LOUISIANA | THE US
E Highlight the seasonal festivals and events as bonus experiences during a trip.
LOUISIANA
E Explore diverse dining options, which include family- run restaurants, farm-to-fork ingredients, fine dining, street food and cosy cafes.
E Book a cookery class to learn new skills and flavours.
ABOVE: Classic Creole-style architecture in New Orleans PICTURE: Monica Meade
about Acadian, Creole and Native American culture and life. This historic district features original 18th and 19th-century houses, textiles and tools, along with a garden filled with medicinal plants. Later at the Atchafalaya Basin Landing & Airboat Swamp Tours – as we explore the vast expanses of wetland – I can see why rice dishes caught on here, given its frequent flooding and having the heaviest rainfall in the mainland US. Lafayette is also home to the
only Tabasco factory in the world, another local innovation taking the tabasco pepper, which originated in Mexico but thrived in the humid Louisiana climate, and preserving it for all-year-round enjoyment.
NEW ORLEANS: CREOLE CUISINE Lining the streets of New Orleans are buildings dressed in shades of peach and lime with lace-like wrought-iron balconies. There’s a nostalgic air around the city, with streetcars that have been running since 1835, connecting the Mississippi River to the speakeasies
travelweekly.co.uk
33In the birthplace of jazz and cocktails, you’ll also find the humble beginnings of the po’boy
of boozy Bourbon Street, the resting place of ‘voodoo queen’ Marie Laveau and the New Orleans Museum of Art. In the birthplace of jazz and cocktails, you’ll also find the humble beginnings of the po’boy. These must-try saucy baguettes are a tribute to streetcar operators: when these ‘poor boys’ were on strike, cafes would give them to-go sandwiches for free, packed with whatever meats were left over. New Orleans is also the main hub of Creole cooking, distinguishing itself from Cajun cuisine thanks to lower spice levels and elevated ingredients such as shrimp, oysters and crab, which were easier to source in the city.
Commander’s Palace restaurant encapsulates the soul of Creole hospitality, pairing live Louis Armstrong tunes with turtle soup and Creole bread pudding at its jazz brunches. If you want to indulge in Creole back home, a hands-on experience at Mardi Gras Cookery School provides the know-how. This city has always been an ever-evolving foodie hotspot, and I’m told by New Orleans Secrets food tour guide Mark Aspiazu there’s currently an emerging vegan scene. You can find restaurants offering fusions of Creole with all sorts of global cuisines; from African-American Chinese baked treats to Vietnamese- inspired po’boys and French Creole oysters Rockefeller. From north to south, no two
dishes are the same in Louisiana; every cook sprinkles a bit of individuality into the pot. It’s a place of variety with recipes and techniques learned in family kitchens and remade for the sake of history and culture, rather than strict rules and recipes. Unless it’s crawfish – no one messes with crawfish.
TW
E Explain the variety of cuisines that can be enjoyed here, with West African, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Native American influences.
E Promote tasting tours to discover local favourites alongside iconic eating spots.
BOOK IT
Purely Southern USA covers the state’s highlights on an eight-night Taste of Louisiana self-drive from New Orleans to Natchitoches. BA flights from Heathrow, arrival transfers, car hire from day three and room-only accommodation are included, from £1,499 June-September or £1,199 October-March, based on two sharing.
purelysouthernusa.co.uk
Journeyscape’s 16-day tour, Cowboys and Cajuns, Mansions and Music, combines Texas with Louisiana. Highlights include a Tabasco Factory tour in Lafayette, a French Quarter walking tour and Cajun or Creole cooking class in New Orleans, and a journey through the bayous of Lake Charles. Prices start from £3,820 based on two sharing, excluding flights.
journeyscape.com
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