What does it mean to be 'Real Cajun'?

It means heritage, location, history, and a special way of living. 'Real Cajun' is expressed in one phrase only: "Joie de Vivre". (Joy of Life). At SAVOIE'S, Cajun is not a fad, and not a marketing ploy. Cajun is who we are and what we have always been.

Tucked away along Bayou Little Teche in rural St. Landry Parish, Southwest Louisiana, is our Cajun Kitchen. It is here that we create our 'Real Cajun' food products. Smoked sausage, andouille, tasso, roux and dressing mix are cooked to perfection in small batches by Real Cajuns, using home grown recipes handed down through generations.

Our Family of Employees

The family names of our employees are a dead give-away: Arnaud, Babineaux, Bellard, Bergeron, Blanchard, Boullion, Bourque, Darbonne, Fontenot, Gallien, Guillory, Lafleur, Lavergne, Lejeune, Noel, Olivier, Quebedeaux, Robin, Savoy, Schexneider, Sonnier, Spreyrer, Stelly, Theriot, Trahan, Veillon, Verette, Venable, Vidrine, and … of course, Savoie. Can there be any doubt about the heritage and tradition of SAVOIE'S Real Cajun Food Products?

Our Story Begins in 1949

We began as a little country store on Highway 742, Savoie's Grocery, back in 1949. It was a typical store at the time, complete with wooden floors, old gas pumps, a tin roof, wash boards and No. 3 tubs for sale.

Attached to the back of the store were the living quarters of our founders Eula and Tom Savoie, who had been recently married. It was hard living, which involved long hours tending the store and the adjacent farm.

In 1955 hard times visited the Savoie's. The value of the hogs they raised plummeted to such a degree that it didn't pay to raise them any more. While the business at the country store was adequate, the cost of raising hogs was causing financial problems. But, the Cajun work ethic and the spirit of survival kicked in and led the Savoie's down a new path which they had not planned on. They decided to have a "boucherie".

The spirit of family and the tradition of helping neighbors is strong in the Cajun culture. Back in the 1950's and 1960's, one of the ways Cajuns celebrated this spirit and tradition was by getting together as a community and cooking Cajun food. At these feasts called "boucheries", such Cajun treats as andouille, boudin, smoked sausage, hogshead cheese, roux, and tasso were made and shared by all of the participants.

Because their hogs weren't worth anything on the hoof, the Savoie's had a "boucherie" and began selling their products through the store. Little did the Savoie's know how far the spirit and tradition of the Cajuns would be spread due to their sharing of their wonderful Real Cajun products.

SAVOIE'S is not just Sausage anymore

The Opelousas company has grown into a larger, more modern kitchen. We are still located on the bank of the Little Teche Bayou and we are still making smoked sausage, andouille, tasso, boudin, roux and hogshead cheese.

Our list of products continues to grow. Original pork sausage has been joined by beef, turkey and other types of smoked meats. Along with the original pork tasso, we now make turkey tasso too. And our famous dark roux, now offers two more varieties: light- and instant roux.

In 2000, another typical Real Cajun foods manufacturer, Acadian Fine Foods, LLC. of Church Point, Louisiana, joined the family of Savoie's Companies. We made Cajun cooking a one-step affair with our Ready-Prepared Seafood Pies and Cajun Entrees. Complete with the quality and taste that made SAVOIE'S foods favorite in Louisiana.

We never forgot where we came from. We still use our old fashioned recipes to make all our products. And each batch is made with the attention and care that you would use in preparing a recipe handed down from your ancestors.