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| Chef's Showcase |
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| “Soul in yo’ bowl”
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Johnny Percle cooks up jambalaya and a whole lot more.
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Executive chef: Johnny “Jambalaya” Percle
Concept: Traditional Louisiana and Southern fare, set in a historic 1859 mansion on the Mississippi River
Main dining room: Randolph Hall
Number of seats: 250
Food and beverage director: Terry Percle
Right-hand kitchen crew: Ricky Allen, Cookie Starks, Mary Johnson and Marion Jones
Lodging: 13 rooms and suites, many with original furnishings
Banquets and events: in the White Ballroom
Number of kitchen staff: about eight
Menu highlights: blackened crab cake on an eggplant river raft, $6.95; boudin bites, $5.95; gumbo “du soir” $4.00; fried shrimp in antebellum skirts, $17.95; smoked and grilled quails, $18.95; crawfish étouffée, $16.95; bread pudding with rum sauce, $2.95; Kentucky Derby pie, $3.95
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| How do you see the connection between music and food? - Questions & Answers
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What are some of your earliest cooking memories?
Well, I’m from southern Louisiana, a town called Thibodaux, and good food is a natural part of the culture. My grandma was a great cook. But I got firsthand experience at my father’s hunting camp, when, by about age 10, boys start tagging along.
My dad and mom had a place called Cajun Cafe in Labadieville, which they first opened in the 1940s. It’s home cooking pure and simple, for breakfast, dinner and early supper – we call the noontime meal dinner and the evening meal “supper.” Sometimes they might bring in a little Cajun band. The place is still there. My cousin runs it now, still serving up family recipes.
So food was pretty important, especially on hunting trips. First, I learned about the “holy trinity” – onion, bell pepper and celery — and how to fry it up and start your roux. The idea was to get your gravy going the night before you went hunting. Then all you had to do was clean the meat and finish it up.
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What was the next step in your culinary education?
When I was a teenager, I started cooking around, making jambalayas and other dishes for people, including musicians. I hooked up with Carl “Boo” Boudreaux, who had cooked for a lot of famous people, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur. He taught me not to be afraid of volume.
My first business card said “Fine Food for Funky Moods.” I was catering at all the party schools, cooking for promoters and backstage at concerts. It was Dr. John who gave me my nickname, Johnny Jambalaya, and it’s stuck all these years.
Soon I was drafted; and after I served, I went to a local college cooking school, where I learned about food science and sanitation. Then I headed offshore to work the oil rigs and other ocean boats. That’s where some serious money was then.
Back on land, I catered – out of an old ’57 Chevy station wagon – and later met and worked with my future wife. And now the two of us are at Nottoway Plantation. I’ve been here 18 years now.
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Do you still have music in your cooking life?
For me there’s no way to separate the two. I still cater some special events for performers who know me. But what’s really exciting is our “Louisiana Legend Series,” held every season here at Nottoway. We bring in a big- name musician like Zachary Richard or Luther Kent and cook up a huge spread and really let go.
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Is it true you even have your own radio show?
Yes, I do – every Saturday out of the station in Thibodaux. It’s an hour-long treasure hunt called “Soul in yo’ bowl.” Usually, we start with a song and then go right on to introduce our musical or cooking guest. Sometimes both are in the studio at the same time. Rouses, the supermarket chain, sponsors the show, and so we tie the recipes into some of its “Feed 25 people for 25 dollars” weekly specials. So we talk about the best ways to cook up fresh sausages or pork sirloin. Man, we have a good time.
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You sound as if you always have a good time. Is that true even in the restaurant kitchen?
You bet. My crew is fantastic, and I feel strongly about keeping all of us happy and at our best. For example, I’ll even put the football game on in the kitchen on Sundays. If they’re jamming, no one even will be able to tell me the score, but it’s important to treat people with respect and dignity, and that means trusting them to know how to do their jobs.
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Can you tell us about the rather unorthodox way you schedule the cooks?
Well, it’s no surprise this business can burn through people — even the best of them. So we have two main cooks – Ricky and Cookie – and each of them works Thursday through Thursday, alternating weeks — one week on, one week off. When they’re here, boy, you can bet they’re on. And when they’re gone, they’re rejuvenating.
A lot of my staff are women, and they have different needs with kids and grandkids and all. So they prefer to work three days on and three days off.
We couldn’t do what we do without the entire team - we’ve just all been working together too long.
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What are the Plantation guests like?
We get some tourists, but we also attract people from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Nottoway is right in the thick of all the old plantations and the historic area.
And we also have diversified into special events including gorgeous weddings and all sorts of family gatherings and celebrations. That’s been real good for us, too.
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Do overnight guests get special treatment?
We don’t serve breakfast to the public in Randolph Hall, but we do provide a full Louisiana-style breakfast to those who stay in the guest rooms in the Mansion. But we believe in a slow wake-up call, so first we deliver hot coffee and warm sweet potato biscuits to their rooms before breakfast is served.
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Do you have any advice for people who want to put more soul in their bowls?
There are three important things to remember – words are the magic of the mind, music is the magic of the soul and food is the magic of the body.
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