“It’s a famous cuisine so people in New Orleans are really proud of it. People are always trying to say that their gumbo is better than the other person. It’s that kind of thing where my mother argues with my aunt and with my grandma about which gumbo is better… Non-stop!” says chef Chris Weysham, who was born and raised in and who now calls Melbourne home.
Louisiana has two main cuisines, . Cajun food comes from the Cajun people, French Canadian families who were deported from Canada by the British in the 18th century. When they relocated to Louisiana, they had little money and had to adapt their cooking to new ingredients. “It’s usually a one-pot meal. You get a big cast iron skillet, put everything you find inside and season it a bunch. That’s Cajun food,” says Weysham. His father’s side of the family is Cajun, it’s mostly that type of cuisine he’s been dishing over the years at previous ventures such as Melbourne’s Girl with the Gris Gris and Po’ Boy Quarter, and now at , but he also dabbles in Creole cuisine.
“Creole is more of a city-based food that came together when lots of different immigrants from Europe and Africa, as well as Native Americans, came together. They had a bit more money so it’s a bit more of a refined cuisine,” he explains.
Two of the big difference between the cuisines are tomatoes and the (a paste of flour and fat that is cooked and used to make sauces thick and rich). Creole recipes have a lot of tomatoes, and many of them use a roux made with butter. In Cajun recipes, you won’t see many tomatoes and the roux is made with oil.
Both cuisines are heavy on seafood. “I still think that the best seafood in the world comes from the Gulf of Mexico. We have the best shrimps, many varieties of fish, oysters, and crawfish, obviously. And it’s cheap,” says Weysham.
Influences from France and all over
The dishes that you find in Louisianan homes and restaurants have been influenced by immigrants from all over the world.
, probably the most famous Louisianan dish, has a West African name. It’s a spiced thick roux-based stock with meat and/or seafood and the “Cajun holy trinity”: celery, bell pepper and onion, a twist on the French mirepoix.
Get the recipe for this hearty rabbit gumbo .
A dark roux is the secret to this rabbit and andouille gumbo. Source: Murdoch Books / Mark Roper
comes from the Spanish. “When they came over, they wanted to create paella, but they didn’t have saffron so they substituted tomatoes to get the same colour,” explains Weysham. He makes his with seafood or with chicken and a smoked pork sausage called andouille.
The bread of a sandwich is similar to a French baguette, but it’s not exactly the same. “It’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, so you put all your stuff in the middle and the bread soaks everything up, but still holds together because of the crunchy outside,” says the chef.
The filling is usually fried seafood or meat, with fried shrimp and roast beef being the most popular. It comes dressed (with mayonnaise, pickles, tomato, lettuce and sometimes Louisiana hot sauce) or undressed. Weysham’s absolute favourite is , a po’ boy with battered oysters and shrimps. Legend has it that it got its name from 19th-century husbands who would bring them home to their wives as a peace offering after a night out partying.
Po’ boys (a shortened version of “poor boys”) can be found pretty much everywhere in Louisiana. And the less fancy the joint, the better. “The best po' boy in the world, in my opinion, comes from a gas station that was in my neighbourhood when I was growing up, a little corner store with two pumps. They had shrimp po' boys there and it’s probably the best shrimp po' boys I’ve had to this day,” says Weysham.
Here's how to make your own
Louisiana prawn po'boy Source: Smith Street Books
Bringing New Orleans to Melbourne
When he moved to Australia a few years ago, Weysham wanted to bring authentic New Orleans cuisine with him and fight stereotypes about Louisianans being rednecks and their food overly spicy. “There’s definitely a kick to it, but if it’s done right, it has a balance. When you eat a bowl of gumbo, it won’t blow your head off,” he promises.
“I wanted to represent my food properly, and represent my people well. When I left, they said ‘You better do us proud!’”
