La Petite Affaire’s Cream of Oyster Mushroom Soup Recipe

Roy Guilbeau, chef and co-owner of La Petite Affaire in Marksville, operates with the heart of a storyteller. Whether he is in the kitchen cooking, out in the field researching and sourcing regional ingredients or offering up humorous wine reviews on social media, Guilbeau is immersed in not only finding flavors, but also puzzling out how those flavors relate to the people and places that shaped him. But that doesn’t translate to food

that’s unfamiliar, intimidating or unapproachable. Rather, Guilbeau describes the café he owns with Chef Tara Rodney as a provincial destination where diners are welcomed as if they were visiting family and can enjoy familiar, everyday ingredients in a new way.

“We want you to feel like you’re coming to Maw Maw’s house,” says Guilbeau. “You’re going to get fed more than you want. You’re going to get doted on a little bit.”

A native of Golden Meadow, Guilbeau’s path into the culinary world was paved with varied experiences that helped shape the chef he would ultimately become. During his formative years, Guilbeau fished on Bayou Lafourche and threw himself into theater in high school. He spent years in the front of house at New Orleans institutions like the Palace Café and Bourbon House.

Eventually, Guilbeau “retired into” the back of  the house as he puts it, finding that his true calling lay in the research, development and artistic expression of creating menus. A classic French court bouillon, for instance, arrives not as the Cajun court bouillon diners might expect, but as a refined French preparation made unmistakably Louisianian with local shrimp and crab. Foraged mushrooms, a nod to the region’s Native American traditions, turn up elsewhere on the menu with similar intentionality. Inspired by icons from late, legendary Cajun chef Alzina Toups to internationally acclaimed chef Thomas Keller, Guilbeau insists on making everything from scratch.

“It’s not about making food because we think that it’s this big sales force,” says Guilbeau. “It’s more about making food that we are proud of and that we want to eat and that we want to present.”

Through his work, Guilbeau is defining the cuisine of Avoyelles — weaving together Native American, French and Cajun influences into something unmistakably local, and nurturing a legacy of authentic hospitality — one plate at a time.

Cream of Oyster Mushroom Soup

We get our oyster mushrooms delivered once a week by PARCO Farms. Visit your local farmers’ market to get the freshest best quality. You can experiment with mushroom variety. Right now on our fall menu we are featuring an oyster mushroom veloute with chanterelles and wild rice.

Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Serves: 16

2 lbs oyster mushrooms
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup onions, diced
4 quarts vegetable broth, divided
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and black pepper, to taste

1. Prepare Mushrooms Separate the oyster mushroom caps from the stalks. Tear the caps lengthwise into finger-sized strips. Roughly chop the stalks and reserve separately.
2. Make Roux Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir until completely smooth. Cook briefly, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot to prevent sticking. Do not brown the roux.
3. Add Aromatics Add mushroom stalks and diced onions. Stir until thoroughly coated with the roux. Cook gently until the onions begin to soften.
4. Add Broth Gradually add 2 quarts vegetable broth, stirring continuously until smooth. Bring to a boil.
5. Purée Once the mixture reaches a boil and the mushroom stalks are tender, purée until smooth. While puréeing, gradually incorporate the remaining 2 quarts vegetable broth.
6. Finish Soup Add the torn oyster mushroom caps and 2 cups heavy cream. Return to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the oyster mushrooms are tender. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
   

Meet the Chef: Roy Guilbeau

Hometown: Golden Meadows
Most meaningful Item in my kitchen: My coffee cup, specifically, is very special to me. It’s a white coffee cup, it’s got our logo and it has my full name, Roy Guilbeau, on the backside of it. My sister, [Sandi], made it for me and she recently passed away from leukemia. I drink out of it every day. As a tool, coffee itself is a big part of what fuels me, literally. The energy, also the flavor palate of it all. We use locally roasted coffee from Arnaudville from Art’s Coffee Roasters. It’s the best coffee I’ve ever had.

La Petite Affaire Cafe
317 N. Main St.,Marksville
318-528-1300
lapetiteaffaire-cafe.com
@lapetiteaffaire