Food/Folklore

Ronda DeForest and Sara Roahen Serving Saint Bernard SERVING SAINT BERNARD: THE FOOD AND FOLKLORE Attention all current and former residents of St. Bernard Parish! The Voices Foundation, in keeping with our mission of gathering and preserving the stories of the rich traditions of our area, is seeking stories of the unique culinary history of St. Bernard. We want to know about your family and neighborhood traditions and invite you to share your stories and recipes. We'd like to hear about the traditional family dishes and folklore, especially those of Filipino, Islenos, Canary Islanders, Acadians, French, Italian, Asian, Croatian and Spanish descendants. What's your favorite dish your Mamma taught you? We'd like to know! How has the bountiful agriculture and seafood of our region played into your family's cultural experiences? The Voices Foundation will set up interviews at North and South shore locations in 2010. Or, send your information online by emailing rosemsand@gmail.com. These stories and recipes will be featured in a cookbook called "Serving St. Bernard," to be published in the fall of 2010. With our parish's changing landscape, it is perhaps more important now than ever to record St. Bernard parish's rich history. Please join us in our mission to preserve the culture and folk stories of our parish. This project has been partially funded through a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. ONE BOOK, ONE NEW ORLEANS Voices Foundation members joined a panel discussion regarding St. Bernard's food traditions on October 20, 2009, along with members of the Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society. The Serving St Bernard Project and Voices of Louisiana joined Sara Roahen, author of “ Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table” for a panel discussion on the unique food traditions of St. Bernard at the Community Center of St Bernard, 1107 LeBeau St, Arabi, focusing on St. Bernard's distinctive Isleños food influences which were passed down by Spanish-speaking settlers from the Canary Islands in the late 1700s. Speakers at the event included Ronda DeForest of the Voices Foundation and Flour Power Confectionary, Rose Marie Sand of the Voices Foundation, and Dot Benge, Cinda Melerine, and other members of the Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society. As part of the discussion, participants had the opportunity to sample several traditional Isleños dishes.