About Us
It all started with vegetables
Guidry's Cajun Foods was developed out of Guidry's Fresh Cuts, Inc. The name may sound familiar because we have been a staple of grocery stores for 20 years now. Specializing in our creole seasoning mix and expanding with other products over the years.
New ideas came in 2012
Ray Venable and Todd Stelly, are the creators of Guidry's Cajun Foods prepared mixes and have lived in Cajun country all their lives. For over thirty years they have worked in the fresh vegetable and prepared food industry. Inspired by New Orleans cajun/creole cuisine they were destined to create the perfect recipe for the ultimate cajun food. By combining all the right cajun spices, vegetables, and homemade roux they have created a product so satisfying, so simple to make, and full of traditional cajun flavors, we know you and your whole family will love.
The History of Gumbo
The leaves are beginning to change color. The wind is beginning to blow in a new direction. The air is turning colder and in the south the Gumbo pots are getting hotter. Gumbo has become the iconic dish of the Cajun culture.
It is believed that gumbo originated in Louisiana in the early 18th century. The exact cultural origin of gumbo is diverse as the ingredients that go into the dish. Louisiana is truly the melting pot of the south and all the local cultures seem to have had an influence through the years on the dish we call Gumbo. Gumbo is a dark soup with a roux base that includes some meat or seafood and a small portion of rice. Roux is made of flour and oil that is browned to various degrees. It has not always been that way. Some of the earlier versions of gumbo did not have a roux base. Some early gumbos used ingredients like chicken, ham, oysters, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, beef, veal, crabs, shrimp, greens, and cabbage. Okra and file’ (dried and ground sassafras) was used to thicken the gumbo.
Today mostly all gumbos are roux based. Two of the most common gumbos today are chicken and sausage or seafood. Chicken and sausage is among the most popular. The chicken is sometimes substituted with turkey, ducks and other game birds. The sausage can be either fresh or smoked. Seafood gumbos often include crabs, shrimp and oysters. Even today some cooks enjoy adding okra to their gumbo for a little extra flavor. No matter how you like your gumbo there is one thing all Cajuns agree on is that there is nothing like a hot bowl of gumbo with your friends and family.