THE AVP HEADS TO NOLA & MAKES THAT DOUGH! WHO KNEW?

NEW ORLEANS – Ask anyone in central Louisiana – or anywhere in the world – if they are familiar with the city of New Orleans and most residents will answer a resounding “yes.”

Now, ask folks in New Orleans - or anywhere else outside of central Louisiana if they've heard of Avoyelles Parish, let alone Marksville, La. - and expect a long, blank stare and the proverbial one-worded response asking “Where?”

“I’ve never heard of it,” said Julian Moore, a lifelong resident of New Orleans.

Beth Islip, from “across the pond” in London, has never heard of it either.

“That must be the hometown of a rock star,” she said after a hearty giggle.

Little do both of them know that for 27 years, New Orleanians have always been indirectly familiar with Avoyelles Parish, especially at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In fact, the festival’s global patrons have had a taste of Marksville, thanks to Panaroma Foods and its coveted crawfish, sausage and shrimp breads.

Lines form early in the morning, before the festival even begins.

For two weekends every spring, owner John Ed Laborde, along with a crew of about 20 people, which includes about 12 from Avoyelles Parish, work fervently in a wooden stand to provide the masses with a product that become a Jazz Fest mainstay and best seller. The festival wrapped up May 5 and even as Frankie Beverly and Maze performed the last song on Congo Stage, there was a long line still waiting on the breads.

I got to visit the crew during this year’s festival, but I really got familiar with the stuffed-dough-slinging crew during last year’s Jazz Fest, which was my first festival ever (don’t judge me). But I quickly played catch up, by getting muddy during the rainy days and greedy with the delicious wares sold at the fairgrounds. Of course, I had to taste the breads, because I didn't even know about Panaroma until I came to the festival (don’t judge me).

“The fact that we've been here so long makes us more certified with the vendors as well,” Laborde said when I spoke with him. “We, in turn help each other. This in turn, helps the economy and brings recognition to not only in New Orleans, but the state of Louisiana and Avoyelles Parish. Our reputation means a lot.”

 

Laborde didn't mention how many loaves he sold or how much he generates during the festival, but he did say every loaf was made by hand and the time it takes to sell them is much faster than the time it takes to make them.

“It practically takes about five weeks to make and only seven days to sell,” he said.

Jazz Fest organizers estimated 450,000 people attended last year’s festival. The count isn't out yet for 2013.

That’s a lot of bread.

“That bread, among other treats puts Panaroma on the map,” said Ashley Joseph, of Simmesport. “I don’t see how people don’t know about the ‘AVP.’ If folks elsewhere don’t get anything else, they’ll get good food and Mr. Laborde and Panaroma has good food.”

According to the 2012 U.S. Census estimate, the population of Avoyelles Parish is 41,632 and the population of Marksville is just over 5,702 – a small drop compared to the estimated crowds that passed through the gates from April 26 to May 6. Arguably, Panaroma may have sold more loaves of its crawfish, shrimp and sausage breads than the population of the town in which it is located.

I solemnly remember last year, on that second Jazz Fest Sunday, when Laborde’s wife, Tiffany Ritchie-Laborde, told me they had “completely sold out of shrimp bread.”

I was almost as deflated as Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal when he found out Tuesday that the Louisiana Supreme Court found his school voucher plan unconstitutional. I really almost cried. But my spirits picked up just a bit because I now knew I could just go down the road and get mine anytime.

“It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun,” Tiffany said. “Furthermore, everyone has to go back to work on the following Monday after the festival. So we’re working, people watching and enjoying folks who are a little more flamboyant than what we’re used to in Avoyelles, but it’s always a good time.”

And Panaroma has garnered a flamboyant global reputation through its Jazz Fest sales. John Ed said legendary journalist Ed Bradley, who was known to annually attend the festival, would frequent the stand. But it wasn't Bradley’s purchases that enthralled John Ed. It was his actual conversation and interest in Marksville, Avoyelles Parish and rural Louisiana.

“He would get the crawfish bread every day and take me in the back and ask about the farms, economic climate and situations and how the crops were doing,” John Ed said. “Every year he would do this and it just fascinated me that he was genuinely interested in what was going on in our part of the world. He was a great human being.”

Edward Charles Conway, left, and John Ed Laborde
prep bread for the masses.

Ryan Bordelon has been helping Panaroma sell the breads from the stand since 2003. He said the fun of the city and its people outweigh the arduous work any day. Temperatures in the stand can rise to temperatures topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit, Bordelon said. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

Edward Charles Conway is the father of one of my friends and if it wasn't for me seeing him as I was looking for food last year, I would have never known about Panaroma. He and Kevin Sampson, both of Marksville, have been on Panaroma’s Jazz Fest team for 13 years. They said the fun they have with festival goers, other team members and hearing the live acts keep them looking forward to the next year.

“Oh yeah, it is hard work,” Conway said. “But we have such a good time out here. People love that bread and we have fun giving it to them. They may not know where we’re from. But they know we’re here every year.”

And now I know where to go when I want some more of that bread.