Our Cajun Creole heritage in south Louisiana is famous all over the world. People come here for food, music, and historic architecture they can t get anywhere else. And for those who can’t get here, or who want a taste of Louisiana once they get back home, we have some crafty entrepreneurs who have figured out how to capture our local culture, bottle it or box it and export it to folks outside Louisiana.

Primo

Now that’s hot – Troy Primeaux, creator of Primo’s Peppers

Troy Primeaux is the co owner of Primo’s Peppers. It’s a company that grows several varieties of organic hot peppers which it then sells to specialty food manufacturers not only in south Louisiana but across the country for use in products like hot sauces, spice blends and even coffees. Primo also uses its peppers in its own line, Farmer’s Daughter pepper jellies, made by Troy s wife and business partner, Kara Farmer.

If you’re a part of the international cult of pepper-heads, which is quite a sizeable group, you will recognize Troy, or at least his name, as the grower of The Primo, the world’s hottest pepper. A pepper’s heat is measured in “Scovilles.” A jalapeno pepper is around 5,000 Scovilles. Troy’s Primo Pepper is a mind-blowing, record-busting1.5m Scovilles. Yes, that’s right, 300 times hotter than a jalapeno,

Cajun Crate

Tara Guidry – mines Acadiana for the contents of her monthly Cajun Crate

Tara Guidry is another entrepreneur who is turning up the Cajun heat and has figured out how to capitalize on Louisiana culture. Tara Guidry is owner of Cajun Crate.

Cajun Crate is a monthly subscription that delivers specially curated boxes filled with Louisiana made products. Each box contains a different array of homegrown Cajun products like coffee, beignet mix, jambalaya, etouffe sauce, and much more. (And go ahead and click on these links: even if you’re born and raised in Louisiana you’re going to discover some gems you didn’t know about.)

Cajun Crate partners with chefs and tastemakers from Louisiana to find the best products from around the state that to deliver to subscribers. There are hyper-local gems known only to inhabitants of small Louisiana towns who are getting a break into a national market thanks to being included in Tara’s Cajun Crate.

Troy Primeaux, Stephanie Riegel, Tara Guidry

Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. Photos by Ken Stewart. And meet another Lafayette entrepreneur who’s making waves, Lauren Bercier.