The Cane River Kitchen

Our Story

My sweet grandmama told me that she fell in love with my grandaddy because he could skip rocks the furthest across the Cane River. This was just one of many hilarious but significant stories passed down at the kitchen table about my family, Cane River, and its connection to our history. My grandma shared memories, traditions, and recipes from our Creole culture to impart lessons about family, independence, and the historical significance of the Cane River region and its people.

As a child, I remember learning how to make Creole dishes and specifically pralines before I was tall enough to reach the stove. Standing on a step stool and stirring the big pot of hot caramel under the watchful eyes of my grandma and my Aunt Freddie was a rite of passage for the children in our family. While we both loved and hated to see the big pots come out during the holiday season, I’m so grateful that I learned the art of candy making.

Pralines or “pecan candies” were one of the earliest street foods sold in America, and Creole women were the creators of this famous confection. As early as the 1860s, free Creole women called Praliniers were known for their popular praline candy. Created by entrepreneurial women, the marketing and sale of praline candy was trailblazing and a symbol for independence at a time when Black women had few legal rights. It’s fitting that the women of my family passed down this tradition of candy making, and because of this cultural and familial history, the praline will always remain one of the central products of the Cane River Kitchen.