In Acadiana, food has a way of carrying history with it—whether it’s a family recipe passed down for generations or a classic technique reinvented for today’s tastes. For Ryan Jannise, keeping a family tradition alive meant growing and scaling it. 

Ryan owns Lena’s Cajun Seafood Dishes, a company built on his grandmother’s beloved recipes. His grandmother, Lena Saltzman, was well-known for her cooking in the Delcambre area, where neighbors and friends sought out her seafood dishes long before they became a business. What started as a small, word-of-mouth operation grew into a full-scale food production company in 1990. But when Lena could no longer run the business, Ryan stepped in. 

Taking inspiration from his background in government and IT, Ryan modernized the company while staying true to the flavors that made Lena’s famous. Today, the company has more clients and operates at a much larger scale. Lena’s dishes can be found in stores across Louisiana and Texas. 

While Ryan preserves old traditions, Robert Sandberg is creating some new ones at Lucia Bakehouse.  A Lafayette native, Robert’s first job in the industry was prepping food in a burger joint in Mexico, a far cry from the refined pastries he’s known for today. A stint at a French restaurant exposed him to pastry-making, and he fell in love with the precision and artistry involved. 

After training in Dallas and working under some renowned chefs, he returned to Lafayette, where he launched Lucia. Inspired by the Viennois baking style, Robert built his business from the ground up, starting with farmers markets and pop-ups and watching lines grow and grow.

Lucia Bakehouse has quickly built a cult following and high demand for his small batch confections like French croissants and Roman maritozzi. 

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