The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia

In the early nineties, friends Daniel Abel, Charles Leary, and Vaughn Perret noticed something significant about Louisiana’s culinary landscape: the many of the indigenous foods and techniques that had once been so integral to Cajun and Creole cooking had vanished. Fueled by their appreciation for Old-World French farming and cooking styles, as well as New World native products, the three founded the renowned Chicory Farm and Chicory Farm Café. Their distinctive cheeses, mushrooms, and organic produce were soon featured in the best New Orleans restaurants, and brought about a renaissance in small farms and local produce.

Continuing their search for the roots of Cajun/Creole cuisine, in 1996 the trio traveled to an area in Nova Scotia originally known as Acadia, where French settlers early in the seventeenth century founded North America’s first culinary society: the Order of Good Cheer. When expelled by the British in the eighteenth century, these French Acadians moved to Louisiana, where they were called Cajuns.
Out of the three partners’ trip came the idea for a center for food learning that would also be a vacation destination. Trout Point Lodge, a cooking school and resort located in the spectacular beauty of the Nova Scotia wilderness, was born. Called “extraordinary” by Food & Wine magazine, Trout Point has become one of the premier culinary destinations in North America.

The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook explores the fascinating merging of the Creole, Cajun, and Acadian cuisines–what the authors call New World Creole. Cooking with the most diverse, healthful, and fresh ingredients, the authors present original and enticing dishes tailored for the home cook. Here you’ll find recipes for Wild Mushroom Pâté, Finnan Haddie Jambalaya, Cashew Chili, Lime-Grilled Cattail Root, Sesame and Dill—Encrusted Haddock, and Blueberry Bread Pudding.
Historical and cultural tidbits, useful sidebars, and unique cooking tips–such as how to forage safely for wild mushrooms and how to smoke fish–complement the delicious culinary creations within these pages. Beautifully illustrated with photographs of the amazing dishes, the dramatic wilderness, and the stunning lodge itself, this unique and inspiring cookbook brings a new cuisine–New World Creole–to the table.