Du Jour: Kim Denicola, Denicola’s Foods

Denicola’s Foods creators Kim and David Denicola have given a lot of thought to the emblematic Cajun dish, dirty rice. Kim grew up in Houma, where her grandmother made dirty rice frequently with a recipe handed down from her own grandmother. But preparing it from scratch took time, and Kim, who was once a single, working mother, wanted to shorten the process for busy families. After trial and error—and lots of dirty rice—the couple launched a line of instant food mixes in January 2010. “We spent months making and testing different versions of dirty rice,” recalls Kim. “I’d make notes about what was wrong, adjust the dry seasonings, and make it all over again. Our kids were some of our main tasters, because children’s responses are always so honest.” On the nights Kim and David finally found the right formula for their dirty rice or another forthcoming product, Kim scribbled notes furiously. Then she made the recipe again to be sure. Click here to read the rest of the story. To read previous Du Jour features on local chefs and other culinary experts, click here.?