Giving Relief to Joplin, a Spoonful of Jambalaya at a Time
Chef Greg Reggio of Restaurant Zea in New Orleans has finished packing up the last of the seven refrigerated trucks and is heading out for the 700 mile journey from New Orleans to Joplin, Missouri, where thousands of people are still recovering from a tornado that cut a six-mile swath through the city.
Chef Greg Reggio makes a point ... with Ewell Smith of the Louisiana Seafood Board listening. Photo credit: St. Bernard Project
In the trucks is enough Louisiana seafood — some of it still alive — to feed more than 1,000 Joplin residents during an afternoon of food and music that will feel more like a festival than a stripped-down disaster-relief effort.
Louisiana knows how it feels to be knocked down, says Reggio, then get back on its feet. In talking to Reggio and others making the trip to Joplin, thoughts quickly turned to the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“I know how it was after Hurricane Katrina,” Reggio says, “going through recovery, driving through neighborhoods, seeing all the debris — it weighed so heavily on you.
“Even well after the storm, while people were gutting their houses, the restaurants did extremely well because people wanted to get away from all that stuff.”
‘We’ve Been There’
One of the "Taste Buds" trucks, delivering Louisiana food and hospitality.
That’s one reason he and his business partners, called The Taste Buds, decided to take their expertise — feeding fresh seafood to large numbers of people — and use it to help people in need. Their first major outreach was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after that city’s tornadoes.
With the trip to Joplin, the caravan — with its seven trucks and roughly 35 volunteers — is venturing even farther away from home and reaching out to an area hit even harder by twisters.
“I think our goal is to lift spirits for an afternoon,” he says. “That’s what it’s about, to let the people of Joplin know, ‘We know where you are, we’ve been where you’ve been.’
“It’s all part of the recovery process. So many times, we come together over food. And for a couple of hours, you can forget about your worries, and know that other people are thinking about you.”
One Part Disaster-Relief, One Part Festival
Unlike other disaster-relief efforts, this one, being held at the Joplin’s Landreft Park will be infused with Louisiana’s spirit. Chefs manning stations will cook on the spot, producing some of the South’s best-known fare — fresh-made jambalaya, shrimp and grits, fried oysters, grilled alligator and Crawfish Monica.
Through Reggio’s network, he found fishermen and processors willing to donate fresh Louisiana alligator, Gulf shrimp and oysters, soft-shell crabs and crawfish from the Cajun bayou.
All fresh? Naturally.
“There’s no reason to use frozen seafood when we have such a great supply of fresh seafood, straight from the water,” Reggio says.
After the event, Reggio plans to take some of the extra seafood he’s transporting and visit local restaurants. Getting fresh product in the aftermath of a disaster can be difficult, he says, so he’ll offer them what he has.
An Army of Volunteers
Chef Gary Darling of Zea Restaurants cooks fresh jambalaya for the people of tornado-struck Tuscaloosa.
Reggio is hardly alone in volunteering his time, talent and treasure for the do-good mission. Looking at the long list of people involved in the effort, it appears the trio behind Taste Buds called in some favors.
Louisiana fiddler Amanda Shaw has come along to perform on the 40-foot stage being hauled by one of the seven trucks. Refrigerated trucks, a stage and lighting were donated. A restaurant donated remoulade sauce, while New Orleans fish house gave black drum. The list goes on and on. Even the mayor of New Orleans is in on the effort.
Returning the Favor
Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and a sponsor of the event, may be helping Joplin residents forget about their worries for an afternoon, but he will never forget when Louisiana was on the receiving side of the nation’s good will.
“Following Hurricane Katrina, we had Rita,” he remembers. “And within one month, three of the largest fishing docks in the U.S. were knocked off the face of the Earth. That tells you what happened to the fishing communities that surrounded those docks.
If it weren’t for help from thousands of people in the thousands, says Smith, “we wouldn’t even be taking this trip.
“This is our way of giving back, and bringing a little of Louisiana’s culture to lift spirits. We know firsthand how much it’s appreciated.”
Category: News
This is such a heart warming story. Louisiana folks are just great!!! Thanks much for Chef Reggio and others that helped Joplin. It makes my wife swell up with pride for her Louisiana background. I love to see Americans helping each other and it be reported !!! WAY TO GO LA !!!