The Cajun Chef
Cajun Culture
In the 17th century, a group of French families colonized land in the area now known as Nouvelle Écosse (Nova Scotia), then referred to as L'Acadie. Les Acadiens, as they called themselves, were a simple people, who highly valued their God and their families. They wisely settled the best lands in the region, and developed a rich, though simple, prosperous society. But the prosperity was short-lived. Soon the British arrived. In a brutal act of ethnic cleansing, the British overwhelmed the Acadians, took away their land, burned their homes, and separated their families. Large numbers of Acadians were packed into cramped boats and deported to the sea. This traumatic period in Acadian history is what we call "le grand derangement."
For the first ten or so years, the Acadians were scattered among the American colonies, England, and France. Eventually a few groups found their way to Louisiana where they were welcomed by the then Spanish government. Word quickly spread that a "new Acadie" was being formed, and over the next few decades, many Acadian families found their way to Louisiana and were united again with family. And indeed, a new Acadie was born.
While the Acadians remained the major population in South Louisiana for quite some time, they quickly found themselves surrounded by more and more cultural influences. Eventually, Spanish, French, German, and Native American Indian elements blended with the Acadian culture to form what is now known as Cajun (Cadien) culture.
The Cajun people represent ingenuity, creativity, adaptability, and survival. The Cajuns used what they had in order to survive. Unlike the Creoles they made no attempt to create dishes they had in Europe. "Cajun cuisine is a 'table in the wilderness,' a creative adaptation of indigenous Louisiana foods. It is a cuisine forged out of a land that opened its arms to a wary traveler." The Cajuns lived off the land and used what natural resources they had in order to survive. They lived in the bayou were fish, shellfish and wild game were plentiful. The Cajuns did not try to replicate European dishes since they did not have access to the exotic spices and other hard to find ingredients that made up the more complex European dishes. The Cajuns were simple, hard working, lower class people living off the land.
Cajun food was shaped by were they settled. They adapted to the land and used what was around to create such dishes as "Jambalaya, grillades, stews, fricassees, soups and gumbos." Cajun cooking was simple and could be created all in one pot. The Cajuns are known for their different types of sausages. They used what they had to create their meals. They had an abundance of Wild game, seafood, wild vegetables and herbs in order to make their dishes. The Cajuns were simple people who enjoyed living off the land.
