Where can you find alligator bites and fried frog legs in Marquette? Well, at the
Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery, of course.
Opened in 2006 on Jackson Cut Alley by executive chef Don Durley, the Lagniappe serves up 100 different quality, made-from-scratch dishes, focusing on the use of fresh ingredients and Cajun southern style.
Durley originally hails from Canada where he remembers starting out cooking at a young age with his mother.
"I do recall loving to help her make her meat pies and we'd always make little cinnamon roll up pastries with the leftover dough."
At the age of 15 he officially entered the food service industry.
"Life isn't always perfect and I was out of the house and fending for myself at a young age. On my fifteenth birthday a friend called and was looking for help at his work as they were shorthanded. It was New Year's Eve and I spent that birthday on the deep fryer. It came with free meals so I kind of got chosen by the industry by necessity," Durley says.
That was nearly 40 years ago.
Since then, Durley has worked as a cook, an apprentice, sous chef and executive chef while living in Canada. He then moved to the United States in 1982 and soon after married his wife, Terry. A year later they were living in Marquette.
In the 1980s Durley headed south for a chefs' conference just in time for Fat Tuesday.
"Holy mother of all that's hot on a stove," Durley exclaims when describing the memory of Fat Tuesday in New Orleans. "Completely blew me away; nowhere in the world is like this," he says.
Upon returning to Marquette Durley headed straight to a bookstore where he picked up a Better Homes and Gardens Cajun cookbook, which he still has to this day, and began teaching himself the art of Cajun cooking. He introduced it to the menus and special events at the hotels and restaurants he worked at, including the Ramada Inn, Northwoods Supper Club, Big Bay Hotel and the Holiday Inn.
When he left the realm of being a chef for local hotels, he ran into a roadblock.
"The number one thing I heard was that I was overqualified," he says. "For me, necessity again became the reason. My wife convinced me that it was create a job or move away."
It was at this point in his life, after he had been successful as an executive chef and manager,that he decided to pursue his own restaurant, although the idea of having one with southern flair didn't dawn on him until they were discussing what type of music the to-be restaurant should play.
"We thought of how to- tapping and energetic Zydeco is, and voila, it hit us, let's open a Cajun restaurant," Durley says.
Despite what may seem as an accidental brush with the Cajun culture in the 80s, Durley looks back a bit further. His parents hail from Nova Scotia, where many founders of Louisiana originated from.
"I believe it's this Acadian heritage and culture that's running through my veins that connects me so much to Louisiana culture and way of life," he says.
Durley now makes multiple visits each year to the southern state that has inspired so much of his dream.
One unique aspect of the Lagniappe is Durley's original recipes. Although some items on the menu may be found on other restaurants' menus, Durley has his own twist on everything, for every taste.
Do you like it hot? Then Durley has just the solution for you. Dishes can be ordered as "ARE Y'ALL FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!?" And yes, the punctuation is exactly like that. Although most guests at the Lagniappe prefer to go the safe route, some feel a bit daring.
"We want people to really enjoy our food and encourage our guests not to spice it up unless they have had the dish before and know the original flavor," he says.
Durley uses spices for a variety of other heat levels, ranging from one to seven, and in reality, most of the menu is not considered spicy, but it is full of flavor.
"We like our food to be an explosion of flavor in your mouth. I love when I pass a table and pick up an empty bowl that's still hot," he says. "I know they enjoyed that to the last bite."
His restaurant now employs 22 people, nine of whom can be found in the kitchen, including his daughter, Nichole, who studied at the Cordon Bleu Culinary Program in Chicago and worked at various restaurants in New Orleans. She has now returned to Marquette where she works as chef de cuisine in the Lagniappe kitchen.
"I have been very impressed with Nichole, as I live by a phrase of 'It isn't bragging if you can back it up,'" Durley says. "She can back it up and has definitely earned her position. After many conversations we are all convinced that our futures will definitely be entwined with Lagniappe at its core and so many other ventures as possibilities."
In addition to his daughter Nichole, Durley's son Christopher, an NMU student, is also involved in the restaurant in various roles including special events coordinator, host, bartender, butcher and more.
With family by his side, Durley makes sure he can be found anywhere, at anytime in the restaurant. Whether that's in the kitchen or out talking with a guest, he takes a hands-on approach to running the restaurant, as he truly enjoys what he is doing and finds it important that his customers have a great experience.
"Laissez les bon temps rouler, y'all. That's let the good times roll, y'all," Durley says.
Julia Woehrer is a freelance writer, photographer and social media coordinator. She attended the School of Art and Design at Northern Michigan University where she concentrated in photography and minored in journalism. She volunteers at a local no-kill cat shelter and enjoys spending time with her cats, Bella and Macy.