Launched last fall, BouillaBabes is one of Baton Rouge’s newest and funkiest catering outfits. It’s the brainchild of two friends who love to cook and wanted to create a different kind of company.
“We noticed a real void in the local catering market,” says co-founder Sydney Harkins, 24. “There were either really expensive places that did a lot of the same foods or places that would do simple fried food. There was no in between that offered really interesting food that regular people could afford.”
Harkins and friend and co-founder Jamie Brown, 34, crafted a concept that specializes in affordably priced, original menus for all sorts of events from mainstream to off the wall. The two have also become known for their weekly pop-up dinners at the Corporate Boulevard whiskey bar Hayride Scandal, and, last month, they cooked at two of the city’s biggest spring food events: the LSU AgCenter’s Gourmet in the Garden and Slow Food Baton Rouge’s Dinner in the Field.
The catering team’s dish of sauteed fish over orzo pasta with asparagus and charred lemon.
So how’d you decide on the company’s name?
Harkins:There was wine and a lot of other vices involved. We knew we wanted something that showed we were women, and that was punny—we love puns—and that incorporated food. I got out one of my CIA (Culinary Institute of America) books, looked in the glossary and started going through the alphabet. We found it when we got to “b.”
How would you describe your style?
Harkins: Babe-tastic! No, really, I’d say fusion. We like to take familiar stuff and put our little twist on it. We want to pay respect to classics, but we want to make it approachable and unique to us.
Brown: We love taking hearty dishes and giving them brighter and fresher [flavor] with things like citrus and herbs. I think with the culinary renaissance we’re seeing in town now, our style is what people are looking for.
How did you get into cooking?
Harkins: I was 19 and working nights at Whole Foods in New Orleans. There’s not much to do at night when you’re underage in New Orleans, so I’d go home and watch Chopped and Good Eats, and practice cooking.
Brown:I started young, spending whole weekends in the kitchen with my family, and then cooking three-course meals every day after school. I moved to Baton Rouge when I was 18 and worked in the food service industry for years, at Pluckers, Leroy’s, Canefield Tavern and Southern Oaks.
What are some of your signature dishes?
Harkins:The Heidi is one. It’s a sexy grilled cheese with Havarti, Swiss, white cheddar, Vidalia onion jam and garlic confit basil aioli on rye. We also do a red bean hummus, and Jamie recently created these incredible Tunisian deviled eggs with preserved lemons, fried capers and harissa.
Who’s a typical catering client for you?
Harkins: It’s all over the place. We’ve been surprised at how diverse our customers have been. But a really fun one recently was a bride who told us that her friends told her she was quirky, so that’s how she wanted her food to be.
What will we find at your Hayride Scandal pop-ups?
Brown: We always do four shareable plates, four different made-to-order sandwiches and a rotating daily special. One recent special was blackened catfish with grits with Parmesan and corn maque choux.
Has anything surprised you about being in business?
Harkins:We didn’t think people would be as respectful to us as they are. We thought we’d have a niche group, but it’s people all over the city, and they’re excited about what we do and how we do it. Find BouillaBabes on Facebook.
This article was originally published in the May 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.
