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Louisiana soul food - presented at The Voodoo Rooms

  • Writer: Kirsty Wilkins
    Kirsty Wilkins
  • Jun 2
  • 2 min read

Boiled crawfish
Boiled crawfish

“Food is so much a part of who we are in Louisiana,” says Doug Bourgeois from the Louisiana Office of Tourism. With 2025 the Year of Food in the southern US state, our curiosity got the better of us – gathering at The Voodoo Rooms on West Register Street with other foodies and travellers, it was time to find out a bit more.


Louisiana’s cuisine has all sorts of cultural influences: as a former French colony, you’ll find France’s mark on dishes such as beignets and roux-based meals like etouffée. Spain is another (the state’s meat pies have their roots in empanadas), along with, for example, the Caribbean, Germany and Senegal.



The state’s cultural influences, in turn, make The Voodoo Rooms a good choice of restaurant for stories from Louisiana – expect, for example, Caribbean rum in their ‘Holy Driver’ cocktail (Plantation pineapple rum from Trinidad and Tobago) and Southern bourbon in the ‘Green Room’ (Maker’s Mark bourbon from Kentucky). Dishes, too, are inspired by, for instance, Spain and Mexico – think grilled chicken tacos and patatas bravas. The menus are available online here.


A whirlwind tour of Louisiana’s food must include…


Gumbo

“Our official state dish is the gumbo,” says Doug. “The stew can have seafood, it can be vegetarian, or it can have meat in it, but it’s always served with rice. It can mean many different things to many different people, but your momma’s gumbo is always the best.”


Jambalaya

A rice dish similar to paella or jollof rice.


Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters in half a shell, baked or broiled. “Chef [Jules Alciatore] in New Orleans created it because he wanted to create a dish as rich as a Rockefeller,” says Doug.


Corn Maque Choux

A Cajun dish with corn, onion, and peppers.


The state cocktail: Sazerac

Made with rye whiskey, sugar, bitters, and absinthe. “They’re strong, but having spent my youth here in Scotland with my friends, I think y’all can take it,” Doug smiles. Find out how to make it for yourself on Liquor.com

Did you know? Tabasco sauce is made by the McIlhenny Company, which was founded in 1868 in Louisiana.

Make it at home

If a visit to Louisiana is off the cards, here’s a dish to try at home. 

Louisiana BBQ shrimp

Serves: three to four


Ingredients

  • 16 jumbo shrimps (peeled but tails on)

  • 120ml Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about two lemons)

  • 2.5 tsp creole seasoning

  • 1.5 tsp minced garlic

  • 340g cold, unsalted butter, cubed

  • Parsley, for garnish

  • French bread, for dipping


Method

  1. In a large skillet, combine shrimp, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, creole seasoning and garlic.

  2. Cook over moderately high heat until the shrimp turns pink (about one minute on each side). 

  3. Reduce heat to moderate and stir in butter, a few cubes at a time, stirring constantly and adding more only when butter is melted.

  4. Remove skillet from heat after six to eight minutes of total cooking time. 

  5. Place shrimp in a bowl and pour sauce over the top. 

  6. Garnish with parsley. Serve with French bread for dipping.



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