Chef Hardette Harris knows good food. You might even call her an expert at North Louisiana cuisine. With the official meal of North Louisiana under her belt, Harris has a vision about North Louisiana cuisine (and it has nothing to do with gumbo or jambalaya). With a passion for cooking and North Louisiana, Harris tells us about her famous meal, her business and what inspired her.
Q: Congratulations on having the official meal of North Louisiana! Can you tell us how you came up with this meal? Harris: I pulled the meal together using a number of sources. It was mainly my knowledge of what we eat, and since I grew up here, I pretty much know what we eat. It crosses all socioeconomic and racial lines. If you ever spent any time in northern Louisiana, at some point you ate fresh vegetables like greens and cabbage. I included those foods and dishes that I knew we prepared on a regular basis simply because the ingredients are readily available. For instance, I tried to use those items that we grew in our fields, picked from our trees or pulled from our fresh waters, also the livestock you see being raised on the many farms we have here.
Q: What does the meal consist of? Harris: The meal consists of a variety of foods we eat in this area on a regular basis. They are dishes that if one visited this area and ate at three different homes, you would get at least one of these foods or dishes at each meal. It’s broken down in categories such as meats, greens, peas and beans, desserts and condiments. [Go to www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=943395 to see more.]
Q: Can you tell us about your business, Pure Louisiana Soul – Food Tours and Tastings? Harris: I couldn’t think of a better way for visitors to our state to learn about the food in our area other than to taste it. ‘Us Up North’ Tastings will give the guest a taste and feel of how I ate growing up in North Louisiana. I hope to bring them the experience of walking into my Big Mama’s kitchen or my sitting at my Aunt Inez’s table for dinner. I hope those that attend that are also from the area will join in the conversation by sharing stories of their favorite dishes, how they prepare and eat them. The food tours will give visitors and locals a quick tour of some of Shreveport-Bossier’s most popular eateries. The stops will consist of restaurants where I’ve either personally tasted some of their items or they are really popular and consistently serve delicious food. I want to show those places off to our tourists.
Q: It is an interesting approach to food and learning more about the food in our area, why was this important to you? Harris: Before I moved back, I knew in some shape, form or fashion, I wanted to have sit-down family-style dinners that celebrated our food. Those dishes that I grew up eating, as well as many others that grew up here or spent time with us, were becoming extinct on our local menus. I looked to see if there was an official meal, and not only did I not find one, I found that Oklahoma is the only state that has an official meal. If Louisiana would have one, I would have pulled from it to create menus for those sit-down dinners. Well, I didn’t find one, so fast forward to now. I created one myself, and with Rep. [Gene] Reynolds believing in me, we now have our official meal.
Q: What do you think is special about the food and approach to food that we have in our region? Harris: The response I’ve been seeing on social media says it clearly. If one has ever lived here or spent time here, they never forget it. It’s always fresh and served with a sense of home and family. Also, we grow all of those wonderful things here, and we eat them, so it just seems fitting that we should offer it just as much or even more often than as those popular South Louisiana dishes. You can’t find one single person that doesn’t have a ‘my grandmother used to’ or ‘my mama used to’ story as it relates to these dishes. It holds a special place in their hearts. Also, this area is known worldwide for its freshwater fishing. That’s enough said right there. We fish, and we fry! It’s simply what we do, and we love it! Along with that, you will [have] some of the best barbecue anywhere in the world. I have noticed there are fewer top-notch barbecue restaurants around. There are some, however, still so many home barbecue masters. Maybe this will inspire more of those barbecue experts to open business and get it going again.
