A Review of Taste of Acadiana 2026: Winners and More
What Taste of Acadiana is like, Editor's Picks, the Winners and Photos
On Wednesday, July 15, over 775 people gathered at the Cajundome and Convention Center for the 20th Annual Taste of Acadiana presented by Hancock Whitney and the Acadiana Apartment Association.
I was one of the hundreds of people gathered with one goal in mind: to eat good. And that I did. With 45 participating food vendors surrounding the walls of the room, there was plenty of good food to eat.
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What to Expect
I will say it was a bit overwhelming, and I would recommend getting there as early as you can next year (which everyone else seemed to know already). Parking filled up quickly, but there were enough spaces for everyone.
The inside, however, did feel crowded. I was bumped into more than once, as we were all elbows-out and eyes-locked on the vendors, hunting for the next best thing to stuff our faces with. Taste of Acadiana was chaotic, but also fun, exciting and a culinary whirlwind.
A couple of the vendors had long lines, or crowds gathered in front. There wasn’t a consistent structure of line vs. grab-and-go between booths, and all of the sit-down and cocktail tables were taken, so it was often grabbing the bite, stuffing your face right then and there and walking to the next vendor.
It was truly a free-for-all, but I think that was part of the fun.
If you didn’t get a taste of something from every vendor – which seemed an impossible feat – trust me, you still left Taste of Acadiana stuffed to the brim with your fair share, and then some.
What I Ate
Amid the beautiful chaos of Taste of Acadiana, I tried 19 of the vendors, but could have stopped long before then, as I was full around vendor 12.
While I won’t go into the details of every single bite, I’ll share some of the highlights.
The vendors I tried:
- Cajun Hot Tamales and Hot Dogs
- Saketini
- Lejeune’s Best Cajun Seasoning
- J&A Kitchen
- Dine N Go
- Divine Cakes and Sweets Boutique
- Fiery Crab
- Prejean’s
- Deano’s
- Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse
- Reggie’s Soulfood
- Ruffino’s
- Lagneaux’s Seafood
- Destination India
- Latin Cuisine 504
- LA Cheesecake Factory
- Piece of Cake Lafayette
- Monique’s Sweets and Treats
- Caroline’s Cookies
My Taste of Acadiana Favorites
While I couldn’t try every vendor at Taste of Acadiana, there were several memorable dishes from what I did try. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that a few of the vendors offered more than one dish, and I didn’t eat everything they had. So, there may have been a standout dish from the above list of vendors that I missed!
In the order I tried everything, here are my favorites:
- Cajun Hot Tamales and Hot Dogs: King Cake Bread Pudding
- Moist, sweet and delicious. The perfect blend between two classic Louisiana desserts. Not overbearingly, cinammon-y, but still had the king cake flavor.
- Divine Cakes and Sweets Boutique: Cinnamon Roll and Biscoff Cinnamon Roll
- Perfectly balanced cinnamon rolls. There wasn’t anything I felt either was lacking or had too much of (icing, cinnamon, etc.) Flavorful, sweet and moist.
- Prejean’s: Crawfish Enchilada
- You just can’t go wrong with this combo. Maybe I’m a sucker for cheese, too.
- Deano’s Pizza: The Parrain (Pepperoni)
- I love a good pizza, and this was one. Though it was a mini pizza, it was crispy and tasty. I’m a big fan of pepper jelly and of sweet and spice on my pizza, so the Nonna’s Pepper Jelly on top was perfect.
- Reggie’s Soul Food: Crawfish Pie
- Tasty and done very well. Creamy and delicious.
- Piece of Cake Lafayette: Biscoff Layered Cake Parfait
- It’s hard to go wrong with Biscoff anything, but still this cake was spongy, and the icing complemented it perfectly between the layers.
- Monique’s Sweets and Treats: Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Compote Filling
- Loved this cake! I went back for seconds even though I was full already. The cake was moist and buttery, and the filling wasn’t too sweet.
Taste of Acadiana Winners
Best in Sweets
- 1st Place – Divine Cakes & Sweets Boutique
- 2nd Place – LA Cheesecake Bakery
- 3rd Place – The Rolling Pin LLC
Best in Savory
- 1st Place – Reggie’s Soulfood
- 2nd Place – Empanada Guy Lafayette
- 3rd Place – Southern Kreole’ Cravings & Pastries
