"John Folse"
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
He was one of eight born into a family of sugar cane farmers and talented cooks in rural St. James Parish, sixty miles outside of The Big Easy. It was 1946. From an early age, John learned to cook using what he refers to as the swamp floor pantry of South Louisiana's Bayou Country. It was clear to this budding chef that the bounty of his family's pantry was located outside the kitchen in the great outdoors that continually offered up lavish ingredients from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi
River.
Following his early education at St. James High and Nicholls State University, John learned close to a decade of on the job training in the hospitality industry. Then, in 1978, at the age of thirty he went for his dream and opened his own restaurant; Lafitte's Landing in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Within a few short years, its success had led him to open a catering facility. From there John's story only grows more interesting. Rather than tell a client he couldn't produce mass quantities of the gumbo they were requesting, John took steps that led to a manufacturing division that presently manufactures more than 60 tons of food a week for the food industry. Today John Folse and Company is one of a small number of chef-owned food manufacturing companies nationwide. John Folse the Educator heads the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls Sate University. John Folse the Man has become one of the world's leading authorities on Cajun and Creole culture and cuisine. He has authored seven cookbooks, hosts his own cooking show on public television, and hosts a syndicated radio show called "Stirrin' It Up" that can be heard nationwide.
In today's Southern Quote we hear the motto behind the man. John Folse says, "Risk is the tariff paid to leave the shores of predictable misery. Never be afraid to take risks. It's the foundation for success." -- Chef John Folse
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
He was one of eight born into a family of sugar cane farmers and talented cooks in rural St. James Parish, sixty miles outside of The Big Easy. It was 1946. From an early age, John learned to cook using what he refers to as the swamp floor pantry of South Louisiana's Bayou Country. It was clear to this budding chef that the bounty of his family's pantry was located outside the kitchen in the great outdoors that continually offered up lavish ingredients from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi
River.
Following his early education at St. James High and Nicholls State University, John learned close to a decade of on the job training in the hospitality industry. Then, in 1978, at the age of thirty he went for his dream and opened his own restaurant; Lafitte's Landing in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Within a few short years, its success had led him to open a catering facility. From there John's story only grows more interesting. Rather than tell a client he couldn't produce mass quantities of the gumbo they were requesting, John took steps that led to a manufacturing division that presently manufactures more than 60 tons of food a week for the food industry. Today John Folse and Company is one of a small number of chef-owned food manufacturing companies nationwide. John Folse the Educator heads the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls Sate University. John Folse the Man has become one of the world's leading authorities on Cajun and Creole culture and cuisine. He has authored seven cookbooks, hosts his own cooking show on public television, and hosts a syndicated radio show called "Stirrin' It Up" that can be heard nationwide.
In today's Southern Quote we hear the motto behind the man. John Folse says, "Risk is the tariff paid to leave the shores of predictable misery. Never be afraid to take risks. It's the foundation for success." -- Chef John Folse
