Louisiana Cookin’ | November/December 2019 44ouisiana may be best-known for its Cajun
and Creole cuisines, but that’s not the
whole story. Th e French and Caribbean
cultures that contributed to those styles
were most prevalent in south Louisiana. Th e food
culture of Shreveport and many other places in north
Louisiana is much closer to classic Southern soul food
than to the étouff ées and jambalayas of the southern
reaches of the Bayou State.
Minden native Chef Hardette Harris returned
to the Shreveport area aft er working for more than a
decade in Texas to fi nd that Cajun and Creole fl avors
were, in a sense, taking over. Th e fried chicken, hard-
fried catfi sh, tender greens, and spicy pintos of her
youth were still there but weren’t really getting any
attention, so she began a series of pop-up dinners,
workshops, and food tours to help remind people of
their roots and show tourists how locals really ate.
“If you go to the South of France and tour some
little village, you don’t expect to have buff alo wings;
you expect to have what they serve in that little village,”
Hardette says. “I think it’s catching on, and I’m proud
to be a part of the start.”
In 2015, she and local representatives lobbied
in Baton Rouge to get an Offi cial Meal of North
Louisiana offi cially adopted. Fried chicken and
catfi sh are represented, along with barbecue, skillet
cornbread, and pecan pie. Th ese are things Hardette
and many folks in north Louisiana grew up with
and cherish to this day. Earlier this year, she opened
the Us Up North Kitchen in Shreveport’s Allendale
neighborhood (just a few minutes’ drive from
downtown) to showcase these soulful dishes on a
daily basis.
She hopes the casual restaurant will mimic the
feeling one gets when they dine in their grandmother’s
home. At some point, she’d like to return to her food
tours and demos, but in the short term, Hardette
plans to serve up authentic, heartwarming Shreveport
soul food.L
At Us Up North Kitchen, Chef Hardette Harris plans on having side
dishes available in the refrigerator and freezer for those who want a
grab-and-go option.Us Up North Kitchen
300 N. Allen Ave. • Shreveport
318.639.0022