You can take a New Orleanian out of New Orleans, but you can’t take the New Orleans out of a New Orleanian.
When it comes to cooking, former resident James M. Ruiz hasn’t forgotten his roots.
That’s clear from the name of the business he co-owns with his wife: Cajuns in Exile Catering. The two launched the business after participating a few years ago in The Preservation Historical Trust of Lancaster County’s annual gala.
“We had no intention of starting a catering company then,” said Ruiz, a long-time New Orleans police officer and now associate professor in criminal justice at Penn State Harrisburg. “We were just trying to support a worthy cause.”
Customers grew out of the event nonetheless.
Ruiz is still pleasing customers and carrying on his involvement in special events with a social purpose.
For the past five or so years, Ruiz has participated in the Kings Who Cook festival, sponsored by the Harrisburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Delta Sigma Theta is an organization of college-educated women committed to the constructive development of its members and to public service, with a primary focus on the black community. The sorority turned 100 years old in 2013.
The festival itself is in its 17th year and has grown progressively larger, said Dorothy Jean Guy, a member of the Alumnae Chapter and director of human resources at Penn State Harrisburg.
“This is the signature and major fundraiser of our sorority chapter, “said Guy. “Its main purpose is to raise money for scholarships for worthy college students and for community service projects and programs.”
In 2014, the sorority raised more than $12,000 toward these purposes.
More than 100 cooking-loving men participated in the Kings Who Cook Festival last year. Two have taken part since the festival began in 1998.
In addition to the Kings, there are other men’s groups preparing food in the festival. Fraternity Row includes all Greek-letter participants, and Preacher’s Corner involves pastors of area churches. The International Cuisine participants bring dishes from their home countries, which have included India, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines and Nigeria, among others.
“We also have princes, participants 17 and under, who prepare a dish or serve one with a parent, grandparent or neighbor,” said Guy.
The festival was the brainchild of Ruth Johnson and Dr. Alfreda Johnson of Penn State (not related), who were looking for a great fundraiser, saw something similar, and borrowed the name, said Guy.
Ruiz will be serving some of his signature Cajun dishes at Kings Who Cook. Not exactly qualifying as “international cuisine,” Cajun food does have an exotic appeal. Yet it is, Ruiz noted, very popular in central PA.
“Perhaps the two most requested items in our catering business are garlic cheese and shrimp grits and cornbread salad,” he said. “The popularity stems from Cajun’s unique items and taste.”
Those who still haven’t tried Cajun may be operating under the misconception that it is spicy hot. “But that’s because the person preparing it does not know how to cook it,” he insisted. “The seasonings we use are orchestrated to excite your taste buds, not burn them out.”
Another regular at the festival is Charles Wallace, a barber by trade, who prepares salmon, shrimp and scallops and other seafood on site.
“Visitors will also find dishes ranging from mac and cheese to Italian sausage. We have at least 50 dishes to sample, and only ran out of food once,” Guy laughed.
One of the expected guests this year, as he was the past few years, is Mayor Eric Papenfuse. The festival, in fact, often has celebrity participants. About five or six years ago, a former White House chef with a pastry specialty brought cupcakes “so intricately designed no one wanted to bite into them,” Guy added. “Whatever you sample is part of the price.”
Although there have been Queens Who Cook festivals elsewhere, Delta Sigma Theta has stuck to its male-cooks-only format.
“Women are typically in the kitchen,” Guy said. “This gives men with real zest for cooking and are at their grills the opportunity to be specialty cooks on a Sunday. The men also enjoy the camaraderie—as well as gifts, like aprons from the sorority and chef hats.”
Much as Ruiz loves to cook and expose people to his beloved Cajun food, the most important goal for him is the same as the one at the Lancaster County event, which in a sense launched his business.
“It’s that the proceeds are used to sponsor scholarships for students,” he said. “That’s enough for us.”
The festival will also feature vendors, door prizes and community soul line dancing to “work off those temptingly delicious dishes,” said Guy.
The Kings Who Cook festival takes place Sunday, April 19, 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., at HACC’s Cooper Student Center on the Wildwood campus in Harrisburg. Tickets for adults are $25 in advance and $35 at the door; for ages 5 to 12, they’re $15 in advance and $25 at the door. For more information, call 717-902-9813 or visit the Facebook page for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Harrisburg Alumnae Chapter.
