Author: Emily Gautreaux

Select Acadiana Industries are Reporting Pre-Pandemic Employment Levels

Like the rest of the state, the industries in Louisiana’s Acadiana region were hit particularly hard since the COVID-19 pandemic forced employment rates to plummet, but according to this article from The Daily Advertiser that details how Acadiana’s industries are doing two years later, some are reportedly exceeding their pre-COVID employment levels.

Just before COVID-19 was spread throughout Louisiana, the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area had reported  204,500 total workers in February 2020. One month later in March 2020, employment dropped 1% and then an additional 10.7% in April 2020, which was the lowest mark in employment in the state since January 2000. Even in 2008 during the Great Recession and the recession of the early 2000s, the Lafayette area had never dropped below 190,000 workers. Then, after COVID-19 hit the area, the metro area has 181,400 workers as of April 2020.

In the two years following the pandemic’s onset, the Acadiana region, like the rest of the state and country, had benefited from federal stimulus packages and has seen efforts made in employment recovery. Despite this, challenges still remain as some industries continue to struggle to bounce back and businesses have to begin looking at and adopting new methods to attract workers.  All in all, data was recently released by the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that four distinct areas in the Lafayette Metro Area are above their pre-pandemic employment levels.

Ava Cates, Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, said the following on the encouraging data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “these numbers show strong, stable growth after a tough couple of years dealing with COVID-19. They show Louisianans are getting back to work in record numbers. If Louisianans are known for one thing it’s their resiliency and that’s what’s clear here.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks all non-farming employment data into 11 total industries:

  • Construction
  • Education & Health services
  • Financial Activities
  • Government
  • Information
  • Leisure & Hospitality
  • Manufacturing
  • Mining & Logging
  • Other Services
  • Professional & Business Services
  • Trade (including transportation & utilities)

According to the 2022-released data, the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area has pre-pandemic employment levels in the industries of Construction; Information; Leisure & Hospitality; and Education & Health Services. Despite the fact that the article attributes these rising employment levels to the fact that the area has transitioned away from being solely reliant on oil and gas, the numbers are encouraging.

This is because the local economic development leaders have heavily focused on the Information and Education & Health Services sectors in the last several years. For instance, the information industry, which includes fields such as data processing and telecommunications, had a reported 2,200 jobs in the metro area in March 2020. One month later, the information industry lost 200 jobs, which is approximately 9% by April 2020. Afterward, the employment levels stayed fairly even until March 2021; now it’s reported that between March 2021 and February 2022, the industry has gained 500 jobs, giving the Information sector a net positive gain of 300 jobs since the pandemic began.

A similar trend can be seen in the Education & Health Services sector, which also saw a new positive gain of 300 jobs since the pandemic began. Similarly, the Leisure & Hospitality sector was among those hit particularly hard in the early months of the pandemic. From just March 2020 to April 2020 alone, the industry went from 20,900 jobs to 13,000 jobs, detailing a loss of 37.8%. Now, as of the February 2022 sata, the industry is up to 21,600 jobs, a net gain of approximately 700 since the pandemic started.

Encouraging data such as the employment level increases in the sectors listed above are needed in times like these.Troy Wayman, president and CEO of One Acadiana commented on these early encouraging statistics by saying, “the Lafayette MSA is still in recovery mode following the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19, with total MSA employment numbers still 2.9% lower than pre-COVID employment. Fortunately, IT, education, healthcare, and hospitality employment numbers are up from February 2020, with hospitality seeing modest job growth at 1.9%, according to the latest data, which covers February of this year.”

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Chattanooga’s Rock City Celebrates 90-year Anniversary

Located atop the Lookout Mountain ridge of Georgia, just six miles from downtown Chattanooga Tennessee is Rock City, a cavalcade of natural wonder and historic stability, and thanks to this praising tribute in honor of Rock City celebrating its 90th anniversary from Southern Living, there’s never been a better time to discover this marvel of Southern majesty.

Initially founded by Garnet and Frieda Carter in 1932 as a German folklore-inspired neighborhood called “Fairyland” that would attract visitors with its mini-golf course, award-winning gardens, and incredible views have only gained rampant popularity across the decades to become one of the most-visited destinations in the Southern United States, with an average of 500,000 annual visitors.

Rock City officially celebrates its 90–year anniversary in May 2022, but the city has (expectedly) been hosting various festivities since the beginning of the year and even before that. For instance, in preparation of the nonagintennial (90th) anniversary, Rock City had partnered with the Tennessee Titans to paint the infamous Rock City barns to promote both the celebration and the team’s approaching season, and the Nashville-based visual artist “doughjoe”painted three additional barn billboards outside of the city to help promote. With such high-profile promotions, the 90thanniversary is filled with activities to ring in a new era for Rock City, and they promise a lot of fun, community engagement, and unforgettable experiences.

That being said, there’s literally never been a better time to make your way out to Tennessee, if you’ve never come face-to-face with the many features that Rock City has to offer. One such experience that you should seek out is the chance to see seven states in magnificent panoramic view while you’re 1700 feet above sea level in full display of breath-taking sweeping views of the Tennessee Valley from the restaurant patio of Cliff Terrace, or the See Seven States Flag Court. The Flag Court is a monumental tribute to the separate diary entries of a Union officer and Confederate nurse, who each noted that the human eye can visibly see Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia from the vantage point above High Falls.

If you’re a thrill-seeker, then you should consider crossing the Swing-A-Long Bridge, an impressive 180-foot expanse that takes you from Point A to Point B like never before. Additionally, this exhilarating bridge walk offers you a vantage point of the Chattanooga Valley like no other, making it the perfect spot to capture a photo that you’ll surely never forget. Though, if you’re less interested in dazzling heights and find yourself to be more interested in the German folklore-inspired origins of Rock City’s founding, then you should plan to visit the Fairyland Caverns.

As previously noted, Frieda Utermoehien Carter had a particular affinity for European folklore and fairytales from her homeland, so her husband and Rock City co-founder Garnet Carter, hired Atlanta-based sculptor Jeddee Sanders to create real-life scenes from some of the most famous fairy tales in the world. Take a magical trek through the Fairyland Caverns, where these scenes were preserved in 1947 and you’ll also be able to meet some of Rock City’s infamous gnomes who are spread throughout the cave.

Another Rock City destination indebted to its founder’s love of fairy tales is Mother Goose Village, another sculpture collection that was completed by Sanders in 1964 within Fairyland Caverns. This location serves as an impeccably impressive, storybook-inspired landscape filled with scenes from classic nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, the Three Little Pigs, and Little Boy Blue. You’re sure to be in awe of and impressed by the hand-made dioramas of childhood come alive.

Rock City’s 90th anniversary isn’t only a time to celebrate its history but also its future. This is because Doug Chapin, a past employee of Rock City, will be taking over as the attraction’s fifth-generation CEO, after E.Y. Cfapin III, Garnet Carter’s nephew, took over in the 1950’s. Chapin commented on his vision for Rock City in saying, “we have always had a focus on hospitality, as well as on conservation. In the last 90 years, we have protected the geological wonders of Rock City Gardens for everyone’s enjoyment, and for future generations of the next 90 years.”

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Spring Salmon Recipe with Tomato Sauce

With spring in full bloom and summer right around the corner, there’s never been a better time of year for a decadent salmon-based meal. Thankfully with this easy-to-make recipe from the Gimme Some Oven food blog for Salmon Set in Burst Tomato Sauce, you’ll be enjoying a wonderful garlic-infused tomato basil cream sauce with your fresh salmon in no time at all!

Ingredients:

  • 4 fresh salmon fillets
  • 2 pounds of either cherry or grape tomatoes
  • ½ cup of roughly-torn fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 4 cloves of garlic, either pressed or finely minced
  • 1 ounce of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, reserving an additional amount for sprinkling
  • ⅓ to ½ cup of heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil, divided
  • ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons of fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons of freshly-cracked black pepper

Directions:

  1. You’ll start this recipe by seasoning your four salmon fillets generously with fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. Nearby, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once you spread the oil around the inner surface of the skillet, you’ll place the salmon onto the skillet face-down. Sear the salmon, undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes or until the salmon is golden. Then, flip the salmon over and cook the reverse side for 2 additional minutes until it’s nearly cooked through. Once it is, transfer the salmon to a clean plate and set it aside.
  2. With the skillet emptied, you’ll go ahead and add in your remaining olive oil and reduce the burner’s heat from medium-high to simply medium. Add the tomatoes, minced garlic cloves, and crushed red pepper flakes to the pan and toss all the ingredients gently until everything’s gently coated in olive oil. Cook the contents of the pan for about 10-15 minutes while stirring occasionally just until all of the tomatoes have burst and their juices have reduced to a fairly thick sauce.
  3. At this point, you can use a spoon to gently smash some of the tomatoes to release more of their juices after a few minutes of cooking, but you can retain the texture and chunkiness of the cause by leaving several of the tomatoes still intact if you’d like.
  4. With the tomatoes properly burst and the salmon already seared, you’re well on your way to the finished sauce. The next step is for you to gently stir in your heavy cream, basil leaves, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt, and a few twists of the freshly-cracked black pepper into the sauce until it’s all combined.
  5. Nestle your salmon fillets into the sauce and continue cooking it all for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through to your particular liking. Taste and season the sauce with extra salt, pepper, and/or crushed red pepper flakes as needed.
  6. When serving and plating your fillets and sauce, garnish your fillets with extra basil and Parmesan cheese.Consider serving this dish with crusty bread, pasta, or rice. Additionally, the texture of the salmon pairs really nicely with a citrus-based vegetable medley or light side salad, so consider also tossing some arugula leaveswith lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!

Note:

If you’re looking for a little extra flavor or texture with this dish, you’re in luck. The above recipe is highly customizable and flexible, so feel free to add some spinach in the final minutes of cooking for a richer, more colorful presentation. Additionally, substituting your favorite Italian herbs in place of the basil or even putting in burrata in place of the heavy cream are both excellent ways to make this recipe your very own. Let your taste buds and flavor-seeking instincts guide your hand, and enjoy what you discover.

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Chefs on Boats Program Brings together Fisherman and New Orleans Restaurateurs

For the past year, Louisiana seafood experts have had engaging conversations about the Louisiana coastline aboard fishing boats. These individuals who have an active stake in the sustainability of the Louisiana coast weren’t coastal scientists or researchers, but Instead, according to this article from Nola.com, they were chefs from famed New Orleans seafood restaurants meeting with the fishermen who stock their very kitchens. The program that regularly brings together Louisiana restaurant professionals with the fishermen who harvest their seafood is a New Orleans-based program called Chefs on Boats.

The planned meeting between fishermen and restaurateurs isn’t simply for the novelty of it, but it’s an opportunity and an actively growing effort to connect the two coast-concerned parties with the aim of building a collectively better understanding and making stronger allies as the Louisiana coast grapples with historical change.

Centered around a well-intentioned and simple goal to quite literally “get people on boats to see firsthand the work of fishermen and the challenges facing Louisiana’s coastal environment from land loss and climate change,” the Chefs on Boats project is aimed at bringing restaurant people of all types, such as line cooks, managers, bartenders, chefs, and owners straight to the source so that they can bring that experience and knowledge back with them to their French Quarter kitchens.

The Chefs on Boats project is representative of an evolution of a nonprofit effort that formed quickly in 2020 calledChef’s Brigade. The Chef’s Brigade nonprofit is a “united coalition of independent restaurants, purveyors, and chefs working together under a culinary brigade system to feed healthy and amazing food to the citizens, front line responders and healthcare workers of New Orleans on a daily basis.” Initially forming when the pandemic closed restaurants and imperiled hospitality businesses, the grassroots Chef’s Brigade group began to pay otherwise idled restaurants to cook for the pandemic’s essential workers such as first responders and health care workers.

By its conclusion, the program had supplied approximately 3.7 million meals to those in need, and Troy Gilbert, the co-founder of Chef’s Brigade had built a reliable network across the restaurant industry, causing him to think about bringing many seafood professionals together. Gilbert characterized this transition by saying, “we had 90 restaurants in the program that I was talking to once a week, and it blew my mind to discover the disconnect they had from the seafood industry. In New Orleans, we consider ourselves a maritime people, but we built all these barriers to the water around us and there’s a disconnect, including with chefs; it just made sense for us to do this.”

Dana Honn, the founder of the New Orleans-based tropical restaurant and bar Carmo, recently participated in an oyster harvesting outline along with Lindsay Allday and Jeff Spoo, both oyster sommeliers over at Sidecar Patio and Oyster Bar. Honn reflected on the experience by stating that the restaurant people who make their living through the seafood heritage of Louisiana essentially have a nonexistent relationship with the “people who make it tick.” Honn said, “it’s shocking how little information is provided to people in the culinary field and how much they want to learn. There’s a gap, and this (program) is a step in the right direction.”

Since beginning the project only last year, over a dozen trips have taken place, meaning approximately 60 restaurant professionals have been taken out to the source of their livelihood. Although the general design of Chefs on Boats is small in scale with each outing limited to only a half dozen occupants of partnered captain Richie Blink’s skiffs, the close quarters allow more one-on-one time between the restaurant workers and fishermen. Blink appropriately emphasized the importance of these outings by saying, “these waters, the seafood industry, the fishing families, it’s part of Louisiana culture that makes us who we are. It looks like it’s going away but there’s still that can-do spirit, and I think that will get us through these challenges.”

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Dinner of the Century is Back at Chef John Folse Culinary Institute

For the first time in over two years, the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University is inviting members of the community to be a part of their annual “Dinner of the Century” fundraiser, according to this news release from the school.

Director of the Culinary Institute, Chef John Kozar, commented on the return of the traditional fundraiser by saying, “this is the first Dinner of the Century since the pandemic began over two years ago. We are excited to be able to bring this unique culinary experience back to our community.” The theme for this year’s dinner is named “A Joyful Magnificence Celebrating Catherine de Medici.”

This year’s menu is inspired by the Queen of France from 1547-1559, Catherine de Medici, who has influenced much of the way we eat and even think about food today. Having been born in Italy, Catherine de Medici introduced many ingredients, recipes, and culinary culture that she had grown up with to the French, making the rest history. Chef John Kozar commented on the cuisine set to be served by saying, “this historic menu is a mix of modern and antique dishes that include some of Catherine de Medici’s favorite treats, as well as some iconic items from Pascal’s Manale, all of which is created by our student chefs and the Chef John Folse team.”

The last planned “Dinner of the Century” fundraiser event was to be held in April 2020, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; luckily, this 2022 event aims to pick up the torch and carry the tradition onward. In addition to the culinary celebration of various dishes, the evening will be used as an opportunity to induct the DeFelice Family of Pascal’s Manale Restaurant into the Lafcadio Hearn Hall of honor, an honorary event that was originally slated for the since-canceled 2020 fundraising dinner.

The Lafcadio Hearn Award is one that is bestowed upon culinary professionals who have had a positive, long-term influence on the cuisine and greater culture of Louisiana and throughout the nation. The honor is named after Lafcadio Hearn, an influential figure who penned a series of books and articles introducing New Orleans to the world while helping to document Creole cuisine for future generations. Having passed away in 1904, Hearn’s legacy lives on in how the public interprets Creole cuisine today as well as in the inducting members into the Lafcadio Hearn Hall of Honor. The Defelice Family will join other influential chefs and restaurants in the Hall of honor. This includes Ella Brennan, Frank Brigtsen, Leah Chase, Drago Cvitanovich, Ruth Fertel, and T.J. Moran, among many others.

It’s appropriate that the DeFelice Family of Pascal’s Manale Restaurant fame be inducted into the Hall of Honor, because not only has Pascal’s Manale Restaurant been an influential part of New Orleans cuisine, but since the very beginning, the restaurant has been a family affair. First opened by Frank Manale in 1913, the restaurant was taken over by Manale’s nephew Pascal Radosta in 1937, who took full ownership of the establishment and later added his name to create the infamous culinary institute that we now know today.

The restaurant eventually gained international attention after Pascal’s youngest brother, Jake, created one of the most iconic New Orleans dishes in the 1950s: barbecue shrimp. Later,  Pascal’s youngest daughter, Virginia DeFelice, and her family purchased the restaurant in 1988. The family continued to operate the restaurant until November 2019.

The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University’s “A Joyful Magnificence Celebrating Catherine De Medici” also honoring The DeFelice Family of Pascal’s Manale Restaurant will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at Nicholl’s Cotillion Ballroom in the Bollinger Student Union. A cocktail reception will be held at six o’clock with dinner service starting at seven o’clock. Information to reserve seats and sponsorships can be found here, with all proceeds going toward the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.

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International Delegates Visit UL Lafayette for Research and Development Opportunities

When the Acadiana area presented itself to international business representatives as a part of the Americas Competitiveness Exchange, research and development from various disciplines at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette was front and center, according to this news release from the school.

Senior officials across the Western Hemisphere and other nations toured Louisiana between March 26- April 1 as the state hosted the 14th Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE), an event that brings together over 60 global leaders who represent 21 countries and multiple international organizations in order to share best practices for economic development and to explore partnership opportunities.

According to Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, UL Lafayette’s vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development, this visit of over 75 economic development, industry, and political leaders to the ULL campus was a vital part of the Americas Competitiveness Exchange. The visit served as an opportunity for the ACE Program to forge business relationships and explore trade investment opportunities in Louisiana.

Dr. Kolluru said of the visit, “delegates will see firsthand and hear from our faculty about the high-quality public impact research that is conducted at our Carnegie Research 1 University. Being able to engage with this group is a wonderful opportunity to grow research partnerships within the Western Hemisphere. The University prides itself in conducting research that is both locally relevant and globally prominent.” Dr. Koluru noted that this historic visit would ideally signify the start of “conversations between potential partners, including partners who might invest in Louisiana or who might partner with UL in their native countries. At least one deal involving informatics seemed possible.”

At the ACE delegates’ visit to the UL Lafayette’s Student Union Ballroom, university faculty presented research from various disciplines campus-wide, with each related to the topics of climate change; computing and security; energy and sustainability; human, community, and economic development; and life sciences.

When Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced the historic visit to the school in his March press release, he called the opportunity of hosting the Americas Competitiveness Exchange both “an extraordinary honor and a unique opportunity for Louisiana business owners, entrepreneurs, innovators, and policymakers.”

Governor Edwards attributed the ACE Coordinating Committee’s decision to tour Louisiana for its 14th visit to “Louisiana’s diverse culture and economy command the attention of decision-makers from around the world seeking to learn from our example. And it raises awareness about the natural resources, infrastructure advantages, and business climate that have made Louisiana a national leader in per capita foreign direct investment for the past 10 years.”

Standing as one of the core initiatives of the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC), the ACE program is organized in partnership with the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA), a bureau within the U.S. Department of Commerce, the International Trade Administration, and the U.S. Department of State.

Across their tour of Louisiana, the ACE delegation explored over 30 sites in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the greater Acadiana region, focusing on areas of bioscience, entrepreneurship, film production, healthcare, manufacturing, and tourism. The delegation visited with EDA grantees, which included the Claiborne Corridor Cultural Innovation District, GNO, Inc, New Orleans BioInnovation Center, The Water Institute, and the World War II Museum, as well as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The visit to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette offered delegates an opportunity to take an inside look at research and various higher education workforce partnerships that support economic development. Additionally, when ACE delegates visited the area, they toured LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge in order to see the school’s labs in which innovative research into chronic disease triggers and treatment are actively creating hope for those suffering from obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia.

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