Here’s a little history test. Do you know where No Man’s Land, also known as Louisiana’s Neutral Strip, is located? It goes right through Allen Parish, along with four other parishes – Beauregard, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Sabine and Vernon parishes.
A couple of businesses will be part of a PBS show that was shot last week in Allen Parish. The crew from New York visited Jewel’s in Oakdale and Chadeaux’s Cajun Kitchen in Kinder, Wednesday, October 25.
Liz Joubert Welch, owner of Jewel’s with her husband, Michael, cooked her Friday special on Wednesday – seafood – for the film crew. She said they wanted to be there for the entire process, but when the crew learned she would be starting her meal at 6 a.m., they decided to arrive later. Liz said the crew was driving in from Natchitoches after filming there for meat pies.
“It takes me three hours to prep and cook,” Liz said on her seafood days. It was agreed the film crew would be there to help cut up the Trinity. Of course, she had to explain the “Holy Trinity,” to the crew. (The Holy Trinity is a classic flavor base when cooking Cajun dishes, according to its definition. It is typically arrived at by sauteing a combination of diced onions, bell peppers and celery. Cooking the vegetables in butter or oil releases their flavor, which is infused into any sauce mixture when other ingredients are added.)
“I showed them how to cut it up and explained what it is and how we used it,” Liz explained.
Fridays, her seafood day with plate lunches of fried fish, crawfish etouffée or shrimp creole, are always her busiest, so it was a treat for her customers to have seafood on a Wednesday. She said customers were nice to the film crew and enjoyed visiting with the crew.
“A big thank you to all my customers. We would not be here without any of my customers. They were fantastic,” Liz said.
She said the crew filmed between working and cooking. They mainly featured herself and one of her cashiers. She said they had the cashier fix plates of etouffée and shrimp creole for the camera. The cashier also fixed food samples and boudin balls for the crew. Liz said they had to do a couple of scenes over. She said they expected them to be able to act, not to look at the camera and to have fun. It was a little nerve racking, but they enjoyed the food.
As long as she and her workers were working, Liz said they were okay. The minute she was interviewed on film up close and personal, she said she entered panic mode.
“It was fun.” Liz had dressed up that day knowing she was going to be in front of the camera. “I had my hair all fixed.” Her hair got a bit messed up from the hat she wears when cooking. She didn’t think about that.
The crew, led by Peter Greenberg, filmed, ate and spoke to the locals and the workers. (If you look up Greenberg on Google™, one will learn he’s an American journalist who does a show, “Eye on Travel.”
Now that it’s done, she can’t wait to see it.
Jewel’s was established by Liz’s parents in 1985 when they purchased the store. Her father, James, and her mother, Jewel, called it J&J at first. Then her parents divorced, and her mother, Jewel (formerly Jewel Joubert and now Jewel Willis), ended up owning the store on her own. She said Jewel is the person who established the store and grew it to what exists today. She said her mother was there for the filming, but they really didn’t use her mother. At 81, her mother still helps her on Fridays with the seafood menu. She said it does her mother a world of good to get out of the house and see some of the customers – including some of her former customers.
Her husband, Michael, did speak with the crew. She said Michael shared his recipe of grilled shrimp with the film crew. She said the man wanted her crawfish recipe, but Michael didn’t give it out. He said they would have to ask Liz about it.
“I’d doubt he knows it,” she said. “He’s usually not there when I’m cooking.”
Now the couple’s son, Patrick Welch is in training to take Liz’s place in the kitchen. She said he’s working with them now and is good. Of all the people in the past she has shown her recipes to, she said Patrick comes the closest to making it like her. She is not saying that just because he’s her son. She said he truly knows how to cook, and he loves cooking.
The couple’s daughter, Daryon, is in Virginia at the moment. She went to culinary school and has moved around from Basile to Oakdale, Lake Charles, Texas and to California. She said Daryon loves to cook and is coming home in November for a friend’s wedding. She said Daryon and a friend are opening a food truck business in Virginia.
Liz is proud of her children and the path they are leading in life. They both have cooking in their backgrounds, because she has shared her love of cooking with them.
Liz also said she has to thank Adagria Hancock, Allen Parish Tourism, for keeping those on the No Man’s Land trail informed of visitors, etc. “She stepped up and put us on the trail. She’s always got our back.”
Last week, a lady from London visited the area, and Liz said Adagria notified her. She said it was the week of Homecoming, her 40th class reunion, and she wasn’t at the store, but she got her cashiers and workers ready for the event. They knew what to do and served the visitor crawfish boudin balls, boudin and different foods from the menu at Jewel’s. “All of that is happening through Adagria.”
Liz said Adagria is always sending announcements out when she learns visitors are passing through and traveling the trail. She said the store is seeing some new customers from the tourist commission’s hard work.
The crew promised to send Liz a notification when the film will be shown to the public, in about six months. She said she told the girls at the store they would shut down and have a movie night to see their big debut on the television.
Note: The Neutral Strip (No Man’s Land) draws its name from the area’s brief stint as the buffer zone between Spain and the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. When the United States purchased the territory from France, Spain and the U.S. were in conflict over the boundary, near Natchitoches. In part, this confusion derived from the region’s long history, even before Spanish rule during the 1790s and 1800s, as a contested area with unclear boundaries. In lieu of an armed clash to decide the new territory’s borders, both governments agreed to remove all troops from the disputed area until boundaries could be determined, and the official Neutral Strip was born. Visit www.explorelouisiana.com or www.visitnomansland.com/about/who-no-mans-land to learn more.
Chadeaux’s Kitchen
The film crew also visited Chadeaux’s Cajun Kitchen in Kinder. District Manager Kevin Pellerin said they wanted to taste the alligator sausage, one of the store’s specialities.
Pellerin said the store’s workers were able to illustrate the smoking process used to produce the store’s products to the film crew. He said they also shared other food items and samples off the store’s menu for the crew to taste.
Pellerin said the show should air in the springtime from what he learned from the filming team. He said the film crew is following the convenience food trail through No Man’s Land as they film scenes for this special.
Pellerin said the store’s crew was excited by the visit, and everyone enjoyed the process. The crew remained on location for about three hours asking questions. Pellerin went in front of the camera for the store.
He said interested persons can follow social media and Peter Greenberg at petergreenberg.com. Greenberg does a series: Peter Greenberg Travel Detective – An Insider’s Guide to travel news, tips, information and inspiration.