There’s a power center in St. Martinville, and like all sources of things really really good, it comes from the town’s women. Two to be exact. There’s a power center in St. Martinville, and like all sources of things really really good, it comes from the town’s women. Two to be exact. Marcelle Bienvenu and Josephine Cormier represent the two branches of south Louisiana cooking that collectively have created our exceptional food. Marcelle cooks Cajun, Josephine cooks Creole. They both have long histories with food — Marcelle has worked with some of the top chefs in the world, written cookbooks, newspaper columns and run her own restaurant. Josephine has raised a family of achievers and at the same time run a restaurant, Josephine’s, that has set the bar for Creole cooking in the area. The pair will be speaking and best of all cooking Saturday, at the St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center, in the heart of old St. Martinville.
This is an opportunity to go deep in terms of understanding what makes our food so special. Cajun and Creole cooks use the same ingredients, but the way they use them, the nuances in seasoning, preparation, and combinations are what create different, though closely related schools of cooking. Marcelle and Josephine are the real deal. No one knows better how to coax flavor out of food, and they are both experts at seasoning. Opportunities like this don’t come along too often, I recommend that anyone who loves to cook or just to eat, to attend this talk and demonstration. And there will be food to taste, of course.
The demonstration takes place at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 18 at the St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center, 125 S. New Market St., St. Martinville. For more information contact Danielle Fontenette at 394-2230.