Lafayette’s restaurant scene is famously difficult. There are more restaurants per person in the Hub City than there are in New Orleans, Austin and even New York City. Plus, you’re not just competing with the restaurant down the block. This is a place where everyone cooks. People set the standard in their own kitchens. 

So what do you do if you move to Louisiana from a culinary capital like New York? How do you get ahead? Well, to start, you don’t open a Cajun restaurant.

Peter Cooke made that decision early on, when he opened Park Bistro, a fine dining concept grounded in Italian cuisine that’s tucked into Lafyette’s Saint Streets neighborhood. 

Peter cut his teeth in high end cuisine in New York. At 25, he became the executive chef at Krupa Grocery near Prospect Park in Brooklyn and earned the restaurant a Michelin Star recommendation. He guided the restaurant through the pandemic and burned out. Plus, he married a girl from Louisiana. So he and his family relocated to Lafayette in 2022. Within a few months, he opened a restaurant and called it Park Bistro — a nod to his old New York neighborhood. 

Chances are, if you’re making a sandwich in Acadiana, you’re using Evangeline Maid bread. It’s a childhood staple known for its soft texture and surgary flavor. It’s white bread. The processed stuff that’s great for a grilled cheese sandwich or a dollop of barbecue sauce. Country bread it is not. For all its French heritage, artisan bread making has not really been a big thing in this neck of Louisiana. 

But that’s changing. One of the bakers behind a movement of craft bakeries is Chris Frazier of Boscoyo Baking Company. 

Chris got into baking while working in the construction industry in Austin. He and his partner Haley met, and then ran bakeries in Portland, Oregon but moved to Lafayette to be closer to family. They opened Boscoyo in 2023. 

Boscoyo zigs where white bread zags. They use stone milled whole grain flours and slow fermentation sourdough to make staples like Focaccia, Baguette, Ciabatta and their in-demand pan de campagne — the traditional french country loaf. They also offer pizza nights and cakes to fill out their business line. All of their baked goods are made with the same approach. No white flour and as much local sourcing as possible. 

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Giada Morgan at itsacadiana.com.