How New Orleans became world renown for their cuisine?

Most people love the food in New Orleans. People from all over the world come to New Orleans to try the delicacies of the big easy. But how did New Orleans cuisine develop into what it is today? What influenced the progress that has been made?

The history of New Orleans Cuisine:

So, New Orleans was founded by the Le Moyne brothers in 1718. They were from the New France – Canada. They had the French mindset. Unlike the English who live in England, the French mindset is where ever you are its “France”. When you think about the French they are a very creative people. There is a strong connection between their food and their art. The Le Moyne brothers were not afraid to eat what the natives ate. That mindset of cooking and eating was brought from the New France of that time. The French believes in eating good meals and drinking well with others.

It’s all about bringing people together for the French. The French people love to have long meals. That is where the 5-course meal came from. Within the French culture it’s customary to take the meal slow, to make it a progression. Usually in French culture the meal starts with an “amuse bouche”. This is typically a small little parcel that can be eaten in one bite.

The “amuse bouche” is made to excite your palette and set the tone for the whole meal. Once this is done the rest of the courses would follow. So, now you can understand how for the French, food is life and there is an art to how it’s prepared and consumed. Now, if you fast forward history and look at the year of 1763, this is the year that the Spanish took over New Orleans. When Spain took over they brought a big influence to the food of New Orleans. Spain introduced the spice trade and rice. So, when you see New Orleans food have everything on a bed of rice that is the Spanish influence. So, now we have a picture. If you think about all the French culture of how food is prepared and served then the overall art of it mixed with the flavor and spice of the Spanish, now you have the “New Orleans cuisine”. From the early 1800s families and different chefs have been cooking and creating the creole master pieces we have grown to love.

When you think about coming to New Orleans and really enjoying the best it has to offer in food, those meals can get really expensive. Really most people who are local to New Orleans can’t afford to enjoy the delicacies it offers.

The Value of a discount:

Growing up in New Orleans we never really had much money. We ate at home or we would go drive over to my grandmother’s house and eat some of the best food in our lives. She was an amazing cook!

We really didn’t grow up eating at all the top restaurants of New Orleans. We would hear stories about how New Orleans had world renowned food and restaurants but the only cuisine we ate was from our family for the most part. I’m not saying we never ate out. There was a lot of local places we would go to like Chinese kitchen and 5 happiness.

But as far as the restaurants that New Orleans was known for, we didn’t know anything about it if we wasn’t told. With this thought in mind there is a really cool way to learn about all the great food options in New Orleans now. It’s called “Coolinary”. In the month of august there is a long list of restaurants that offer a three course meal for an average of $40.

This is a big deal because in many of the nice restaurants one entree would cost that much. Experiencing Coolinary in New Orleans has really helped me get proof, when it comes to 5 star meals, there is no other place like New Orleans!