NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans-based National Food & Beverage Foundation (NatFAB) announced that Falcon Rice Mill, the family owned mill that has produced Cajun Country Rice in Crowley, Louisiana, since 1942, has just been added to the National Culinary Heritage Register.
The National Culinary Heritage Register is a list of culinary products, processes, inventions, traditions and establishments that are at least 50 years old and that have contributed significantly to the development of American foodways. The first and only register of its kind, it is an initiative designed to explore and preserve the complex history of food and beverage in America.
On March 24, Liz Williams, President of NatFAB, presented the Register Certificate to Robert L. Trahan, director of sales and business development at Falcon Rice Mill. “We are thrilled to have such an important national landmark on the Culinary Heritage Register,” said Williams.
Trahan said, “Our company and family are humbled and thrilled to be listed on the Culinary Heritage Register. We’d like to thank our loyal customers for allowing us to continue to preserve our great culture and cuisine. In addition, we cannot express enough gratitude to the National Food and Beverage Foundation for recognizing us.”
Food and beverage practices not only play a major role in America’s cultural identity, but they also offer valuable insights into the country’s past and present environment, economy, and social structures, NatFAB reps said. Thus, understanding when, where, and how American food and beverage practices have developed allows for a more complete understanding of America’s culture and history, they said.
Mapping the origins and development of America’s complex culinary traditions is a daunting task, and as of yet, there has been no concerted effort to do so, reps said. By creating the Culinary Heritage Register, NatFAB hopes to begin the important process of recording America’s extensive and flavorful foodways.
Other members of the register include Big Bob Gibson BBQ in Alabama; Tujague’s restaurant in New Orleans; Robert is Here farm in Homestead, Florida; New Jersey based Laird & Company – producers of Laird’s Applejack since 1780 and many others.
