Only in Louisiana is fishing and cooking so closely intertwined. More often than not, anglers take as much pride in their skills in the kitchen as on the water.
Maybe it’s because we catch so many fish here. Maybe it’s our camp culture, in which everyone cooks.
On the other hand, successful Louisiana chefs have forsaken cooking careers to become charter fishing guides. A much larger number of chefs fish every moment they aren’t in the kitchen.
Dustie Latiolais is one of the latter.
Although the full-blooded Cajun grew up in the heart of Acadiana, where hunting and fishing is part of a man’s pedigree, his cooking credentials are impeccable. He has competed in five Acadiana Culinary Classics, the largest culinary competition on the Gulf Coast, with the largest best-of-show purse ($10,000). He won as a student while attending the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge.
In 2013, he was invited to compete to represent the state in the prestigious Great American Seafood Cook Off. On April 7, Latiolais will be one of 30 participants in the American Culinary Federation — Louisiana Chapter’s The Best Chefs of Louisiana: A Culinary Experience.
Each participant must cook 300 portions. The public who have purchased tickets get to taste what they prepare. Money raised goes to charity.
But it is incorrect to assume that being executive chef in a seafood restaurant would result in his being “burnt out” on seafood.
“I don’t get tired of fish,” Latiolais said. “I do fish fries at home with all the fish I catch.”
Apparently, he doesn’t tire of fishing, either. He had just returned from a kayak fishing vacation with his wife and son in the Key Largo, Fla., area.
“We caught about 25 mangrove snappers,” Latiolais said. “We had to throw a lot of them back — too small.”
The disappointment in his voice was obvious.
“I caught a crevalle. Did I say that right? It doesn’t taste good, but it pulls hard,” he said. “They have a lot of redfish, but they don’t fish for them like we do: Everyone that charters a boat goes for tarpon.
“You can’t even eat that — if I’m going to spend my money, I want to catch something I can eat.”
Yeah — he’s a Cajun.