When Chef Toby Rodriguez and his chefs of Lâche Pas Boucherie arrive in St. Louis, they’re not coming just for a good time, great food and top-notch libations, although the boucherie will include all three.
Photo by Denny Culbert
In a two-day food-centric event beginning on Sunday, May 29th, they will teach their culinary trade, the traditional harvest of an animal. Rodriguez (right), who honed his knife for his first boucherie at the age of ten, will pass down the traditions he learned from his family in Acadiana, his home community in southern Louisiana.
Guided by Rodriguez, local chefs will participate in the killing, slaughter, butchering, and processing of the harvested beast. Rodriguez is more than a technician, however. He teaches not only techniques to preserve age-old Cajun food traditions, but the philosophy behind the making of boudin and boudin noir, backbone fricasse, head cheese, tasso, gratons, fraisseurs, chaudin, and panse. No part of the sacrificed animal will be wasted.
Local chef Ryan McDonald had killed and cooked rabbits and chickens he raised. He’d learned how to break down a pig in restaurant kitchens and butcher shops into familiar cuts like loins and chops. His work at last year’s boucherie taught him much more -- not just about butchery, but about philosophy, food and community.
“Once you’ve seen a pig walking around early in the morning harvested, cooked, and served to people the following day, you appreciate and fully understand where your food comes from,” he says.
The slaughter profoundly moved McDonald. “Toby first burned sage to cleanse the killing area,” he says. “His skill – everything went according to plan so there was the least possible stress on the animal in the situation.”
The learning continued with throughout the day. “Toby breaks down these animals strictly for the foods he cooks. The most shocking thing is he cut down either side of the spine to preserve the meat on the bone – you would never do that in a restaurant kitchen – but we made a traditional backbone stew (fricasse) the following day. There’s no book or resource that can show you how to do what he does.”
When asked what value St. Louis foodies would derive from attending the two-day event, McDonald (right) was unequivocally positive. “You know, as Toby said, people think the boucherie is about the pig. That’s part of it, but the coming together of the community – it’s a people thing. Most people who buy a ticket come for both days,” he says. “It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you really want to understand why it’s important to raise and slaughter animals in a humane way, a boucherie brings that home.”
As a side note, after last year’s boucherie, McDonald, and fellow chef Tommy (Salami) Andrew prepared a Boo-cherie Halloween dinner at Byrd & Barrel.
On Sunday, the event runs from about 7:30 a.m. until about 5 p.m. Farmtruk food truck will be on site from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. serving brunch and lunch items. Complimentary libations begin at 10 a.m.
On Monday, the Louisiana homeboys, with the help of 20 St. Louis chefs, will throw down a 6-course meal with pairings. Lundi Soir will feature the specialties and authentic dishes they’ve learned to prepare, preserving these authentic dishes. The festivities begin at 8 a.m. when the chefs start cooking. Happy hour begins at 7 p.m. and the Cajun dinner you’ll only experience from Lâche Pas Boucherie will be served at 8 p.m. Check out the amazing menu here (scroll down to the bottom of the page)
The boucherie, which will be held at a private residence in Florissant high on the bluffs overlooking the city, is open to the public both days. Limited tickets are available here for the two-day event.
St. Louis sponsors of this special weekend include Mac’s Local Buys, Circle B Ranch, Gateway Garlic Urban Farms, Fox River Dairy, Earthbound, 4 Hands, and 2nd Shift breweries plus Pinckney Bend Distillery.
BTW –the phrase lâche pas? According to a tiny line at the bottom of the poster for this year’s event, it translates to "don’t ever give up – never." We found the original Cajun phrase, lache pas la patate, with a fitting explanation in the comments to a song from artist Jimmy C. Newman:
"Lache Pas la Patate literally means ‘Don't drop the potato.’ But freely translated it means ‘Hang in there people.’ This refers to the preservation of the Cajun culture and their resistance to be assimilated into mainstream American culture."
Event dates:
Sunday, May 29, 2016: 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday, May 30, 2016: Opens 8 a.m., dinner served at 8 p.m.
Photo by Denny Culbert
A duck leg dish at a prior event
