33 louisianacookin.comCHEF’S TABLEWHEN A GUEST ARRIVES at Orlandeaux’s Café, located just a
stone’s throw from Shreveport Regional Airport along Interstate 20, they
could easily mistake themselves for having interrupted a very popular
person’s birthday party. Zydeco and pop country blare at a nearly
uncomfortable volume. No one in the crowded dining room appears to
feel too obligated to remain seated at their own table. Platters of stuff ed
shrimp, smothered pork chops, and fried chicken livers crowd every fl at
surface.
Th ere may be a 15-minute wait to be seated, but when “Th e Love
Slide” by Cupid comes over the satellite radio, the female servers are going
to strike up a line dance and the cooks will gather in the service window
to watch.
In the midst of this revelry, the restaurant’s 30-year-old owner and
chef, Chapeaux Chapman, remains laser-focused on the tiniest details of
his business. Chapeaux is a fi ft h-generation restaurateur whose family can
trace their history from the Cane River Creoles in Campti to operating
several historic Shreveport eateries: Freeman & Harris Café, Pete Harris
Café, and Brother’s Seafood.
All three restaurants were pillars of black social life in postwar
Shreveport. Operated by descendants of Van Freeman, Jack Harris, and
Arthur “Scrap” Chapman from 1921 until 2013, this family of restaurants
was propelled forward by the growth of Shreveport’s black middle class
and a humdinger of a recipe for stuff ed shrimp.
“We were all raised in this thing together,” Chapeaux says, gesturing
to his staff. “Our restaurant is 98 years old this year. A lot of these people
have been working here for decades. We’ve done a lot of hugging and
laughing together and a lot of crying and rebuking.”
Over the course of a dinner service, Chapeaux somehow manages
to hop on the line and cook, defuse the occasional spat between servers,
and visit with guests. Th e oldest of three brothers, he attended Southern
University on a music scholarship but switched majors to pursue a more
lucrative career as a mechanical engineer. While undergoing oil fi eld
safety training in the fall of 2013, Chapeaux received the devastating news
that his father, Orlando Chapman, had suff ered a fatal heart attack.Orlandeaux’s Café
4916 Monkhouse Dr. • Shreveport
316.635.1641 • orlandeauxs.comRAISED IN THIS THING
Chef Chapeaux Chapmanby chris jay | photography by john o’hagan