#CAJUN FRENCH FROQ HOW TO#

Layne started here when he was in high school, and he's been at the station for 51 years. And Happy Squirrel Weekend (speaking French).īURNETT: The station's general manager is Mark Layne, born Martel Ardoin.

#CAJUN FRENCH FROQ HOW TO#

No, they're talking about where to find the sweetest watermelons, what food to bring to the cemetery on All Souls' Day, how to kill maggots under the house and the best squirrel hunting. Here in deeply conservative Trump country, the callers don't talk about abortion or election fraud or the perfidious Democrats. (Speaking French).īURNETT: While the Saturday morning Cajun music at Fred's Lounge is internationally renowned, the station's most popular program is a daily call-in show.īURNETT: It's called 'The Cup of Coffee' - 'La Tasse' to regulars. (SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, 'LA TASSE DE CAFE')ĬHARLIE MANUEL: All right. This year, the station won a uniquely Louisiana award. KVPI, located in Ville Platte, does more than any other - news, weather, talk, a swap shop, even obits in French. Radio is part of a broad movement to save Cajun French from extinction.īURNETT: Eight radio stations in southern Louisiana still broadcast partially in French. The discovery of oil ushered in more English influences, and television further diluted the language. Cajun GIs left the region to fight in the world wars and learned English.

Cajuns were punished for speaking French in school.

But a number of factors worked against the language. They made their way to the bayou country of south Louisiana, and here they thrived, preserving their culture and folkways. They still have the same urinal from back in the '40s and - that's in the bathroom.īURNETT: The Acadians or Cajuns descended from Roman Catholic French Canadians who were expelled from the Nova Scotia region by the British in the mid-1700s. And this is the only bar that's still old-fashioned, old-school. Now his son Seth Reed comes here almost every Saturday morning. That's how we call that over here.īURNETT: The live radio feed from Fred's began in the 1960s with a local educator named Revon Reed. We call that a Franglais - little bit of French, little bit of English. But the people over here - a lot of them don't understand all the French words, so I do it in English, too. I do my sponsors mostly in English, but I do some in French. I start at 9 o'clock, and then I finish it by 11 o'clock. PERRON: Today, we are at Fred's Lounge on Sixth Street in Big Mamou. All right? All right, guys, back to the bandstand.īURNETT: Perron is a city councilman, retired auto body repairman and part-time DJ. He anchors the live weekly broadcasts from Fred's Lounge on The Legend - 1050 KVPI. Nearby sits a radio announcer named Mike Perron. JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE: It's Saturday morning at Fred's Lounge in the town of Mamou, which sits among the rice fields and crawfish ponds of what's called the Cajun prairie.īURNETT: Inside the red brick tavern by 8:30 a.m., they're already serving Budweisers and bloody marys as couples waltz on the worn linoleum.īURNETT: A sign reads, please do not stand on the tables, chairs or cigarette machine. During the week, the radio station opens the phone lines for native French speakers to swap stories and reminisce. On Saturday mornings, it broadcasts live French music from inside a venerable bar - sadly, no songs from the music of B.J. It's been on the air for nearly 70 years, doing everything it can to keep alive a dying language. Serve with your favorite side.There's a little radio station in south Louisiana. Keep warm while you finish frying the rest of the frog legs. Fry until golden brown and remove to a paper towel-lined platter.

Once the temperature reaches 350✯ add the first batch of frog legs. Preferred to use an electric deep fryer or you can use a large black iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and peanut oil. Mix well.Īdd the frog legs to the flour mixture and coat. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour along with the remaining Cajun seasoning and garlic powder. Transfer the still-soaked frog legs to a platter and sprinkle with more Cajun seasoning. In a colander over the sink, empty the frog legs into the colander and let the buttermilk mixture strain off. Seal the container and refrigerate for 2 hours. Mix to combine and submerge the frog legs. In a plastic container with a lid, add the frog legs and buttermilk along with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. If necessary, with a sharp knife, separate each pair of frog legs into two individual legs.

Cajun french froq