Old Orleans
Old Orleans is a unique dining experience, offering
an authentic taste of the Deep South. The fantastic culinary heritage of
Louisiana and the South is reflected in our food and drink menus and our
décor is inspired by classic Crescent City style. Our menu features
classic Louisiana and Cajun recipes such as Jambalaya and Gumbo as well
as more well known Southern dishes. Our chefs create occasional
surprises and opportunities for customers to try out new additions to
the menu.
With our inspiration firmly in New Orleans, we thought we'd tell you a
little about it. It is an American city — just a very different place
with a very peculiar history. New Orleans is a place where Africans,
both slave and free, and American Indians shared their cultures and
intermingled with European settlers. Encouraged by the French
government, this strategy for producing a durable culture in a difficult
place marked New Orleans as different and special from its inception and
continues to distinguish New Orleans today. From neworleansonline.com
Birthplace of Jazz
Originating in the late 1890 in New Orleans, Jazz incorporated elements
of marching band music, Blues and Ragtime. Often referred to as
Dixieland Jazz, it soon spread to Chicago and New York, with Louis
Armstrong one of its most famous musicians. A key part of New Orleans
culture is the jazz funeral, with slow, sad melodies played on the way
to the funeral, and faster, 'hot jazz' played on the way back.
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras translates as 'Fat Tuesday' and falls on the day we have
Shrove Tuesday. It is the culmination of the celebration season starting
on the 6th January. According to economic reports Mardi Gras generates
over £1 billion dollars of spending. The 2001 carnival season included
53 parades, featuring 1061 floats, 588 marching bands, 3750 total parade
units and more than 135,000 participants. From www.mardigrasguide.com
Creole and Cajun Cooking
Creole cooking has its routes in French and Spanish food, mixed with
local New Orleans ingredients. Cajun cooking is more basic country food
cooked in one pot - strong and spicy. Below is an extract from an
article written by written by Malcolm Hébert. You can read the full
article here on gumbopages.com
The best way to know the cooking of New Orleans is to be raised there.
My mother and father, who were born nearby, were proud of their
heritage. Every year my parents drove "south" to visit my relatives, to
feast on crabs, crawfish, gumbos, bisques, grits, preserved figs, salt
pork, black-eyed peas, smothered chicken, oysters, shrimp, redfish,
speckled trout, pain perdu, etc. From three years old until today, my
greatest food memories were of the cooking of Louisiana.
I consider myself fortunate to have Creole parents raised in Cajun
country so that I have been privileged to sample both cuisines.
Obviously, both the Creole and Cajuns take food as seriously as they
take anything on earth, more so than the Chinese. The latter greet
people with "Have you eaten well today?" Creoles and Cajuns not only
want to know what you have eaten, but what are you planning to eat for
the remainder of the day as well as for tomorrow? Then they will tell
you what they have eaten, will eat today and what's on the menu for
tomorrow.
Creoles and Cajuns live to eat. Their very existence is food, more food
and still more food. They are not greedy and certainly not selfish. They
will gladly share a meal with you, offering the choicest morsels for
your pleasure. They have adopted the Spanish "my house is your house"
philosophy and are happy to make sure your stomach is full.
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