What Is Creole Cooking?

Creole cooking is often reffered to as 'Louisana Creole'.  It originates from the New Orleans area of Louisiana, but its greater influences span the world. Creole cooking is a blend of French, African and Spanish flavours. It is sometimes confused with Cajun cooking; although the two are similar, they are distinctly separate.   Cajun  is influenced by French Provencial cooking.  Creole cooking, on the other hand, takes its inspiration from a host of European cultures.

More importantly, 'Cajun' and 'Creole' refers to two different cultural groups. The Cajuns are the descendants of the French Acadians who settled in Louisiana in the 1770's.  Creole refers to descendents of those people who lived in the French territory of Louisiana, before it became a part of the United States in 1803.  This definition is sometimes expanded to describe people of mixed ethnicity, which is a telling clue about Creole cooking.  It represents a fantastic variety of cultural influences.

Creole cooking uses local ingredients and employs classical European cooking methods.  A sample menu might include a crawfish bisque and shrimp alfredaux.