Theories about Cajun and Creole cooking proliferate like mosquitoes in a swamp. Both cuisines overlap quite a bit and rely heavily on the seafood, game, spices, herbs and vegetation of Louisiana.
Charlie Orr, of Chicago`s Maple Tree Inn, consults his ”official” Cajun glossary and recites, ”Cajun is food that you eat in the kitchen, and Creole is food you eat in the dining room.”
At its most basic, Cajun food is freshly caught, pan-fried or stewed. Basics include rice and a roux (equal parts of oil and flour, cooked and stirred until dark brown).
”Creoles use tomato,” Orr recalled. ”That`s another difference. And they don`t caramelize their onions.”
He recalled that the great Jambalaya Festival in Gonzales, La., each June has a strict Cajun-only motif.
”You are not allowed in town with a can of tomatoes,” he insisted. ”It is all brown jambalaya, all Cajun, no Creole.
”Some of my clientele come in looking for red jambalaya, and I haven`t got it. One woman said mine wasn`t fit for a dog.
”I said, `Ma`am, that`s Cajun jambalaya.` She said, `I don`t care. Those Cajuns don`t know how to cook.”`