Local Restaurants Featured In ‘Cajun Food Tours’

Marie Ducote, owner, operator, tour guide, and bus driver for 'Cajun Food Tours' stopped by "Mornings with Ken and Bernie" today to discuss Cajun food, Cajun culture, and her new business that promises to bring a taste of Acadiana to tourists and locals alike.

Cajun Food Tours is a bus tour that allows participants to sample Cajun delicacies from seven different area restaurants. Owner Marie Ducote came up with the idea while participating in similar tours in other parts of the country.

A couple years ago I was up in Baltimore, Maryland and I heard they were doing food tours....I thought “somebody should do this in Lafayette”. Last November I was in Louisville Kentucky, and I went on a food tour where we were picked up on a bus. I realized, “'ding', somebody could do that in Lafayette”

Marie explained that while the tours are intended to help visitors learn about Cajun food and culture, it hasn't stopped locals from jumping on the bus.

We've done about 12 tours so far and they're a lot of fun. So far it's about half and half visitors and local people.

Marie is currently offering tours Monday through Saturday and explained that transportation is not a problem. She'll pick up groups at hotels or other meeting places in her bus and set out.

The tour hops around spending about 15 minutes at seven different local restaurants and allows participants to sample food, and sometimes, watch the cooking process.

The irony of the situation may be that Louisville, Kentucky one of the cities that inspired Ducote's business, finished second place to Lafayette in Southern Living's "Tastiest Town In The South" competition. Ken and Bernie didn't waste an opportunity to ask about the local cuisine from Lafayette's biggest culinary competition.