Gobble, quack and cluck.
When Lafayette businessman Charlie Hohorst, a fourth-generation Louisianian, watched as the ravages of Hurricane Katrina were compounded by Hurricane Rita, he decided to take the philosophy of his Web-based direct-food delivery business to the next level. Hohorst is offering his most popular holiday product, Turducken, at a discount and as a donation for Katrina Relief efforts through cajungro cer.com.
Turducken is a boned turkey stuffed with a boned duck that is stuffed with a boned chicken. Each bird is separated by a layer of stuffing. The unique holiday entree is available with cornbread dressing, Cajun seafood jambalaya or Creole sausage stuffing. Turducken was voted by The Wall Street Journal in 2004 as best overall and best value for the holiday season.
Hohorst is offering 10 percent off of $68.95, not including shipping, and will donate 5 percent of sales to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, louisianahelp.org.
“Our town has been spared so far, and I am one of the few south Louisiana food businesses still up and running,” Hohorst says. “These people are family and friends. It’s the least we can do. Because Turducken is a Louisiana tradition, it’s natural to make this all work together for good.” Turduckens, available via cajungrocer.com or 888-272-9347, are discounted through Dec. 31.
– Ellen Sweets
The Gulf Coast Foodways
project is underway
The Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans and The Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi in Oxford are collaborating on The Gulf Coast Foodways Renaissance Project, chronicling the impact of recent hurricanes on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and the region’s rebirth.
The project’s focus on food offers entree to every strata of society. By way of oral-history interviews, photography and, eventually, film, the effort seeks to explore possible long-term changes in what we eat and the people who grow, catch and prepare it. We will look at what has been lost and what, if anything, has been gained, using a two-
pronged approach – interviews with displaced Gulf Coast residents, focusing upon the storm, its aftermath and adaptation and interviews with the farmers, fishermen, waiters, cooks and busboys who, by way of working at a restaurant, form a de facto family.
Elizabeth Pearce, project coordinator, says, “We would like to connect with people who are willing to tell their stories or share images. By choosing food as a lens to look at the hurricanes’ impact, we can more understand and illuminate the toll on our neighbors.”
After stories are gathered, a traveling exhibit and an online exhibit are planned. Documentary films and publications are also possible. Funding for phase one is provided by the Fertel Foundation (fertel.com).
For information about how you can sponsor or participate in the project, go to south ernfood.org or southernfoodways.com or call 888-926-1999.
– Ellen Sweets
