By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE –- Riverlands Golf and Country Club Executive Chef Jason Labat says he has a new and innovative recipe that will help make boudin famous.
“I make a very good boudin cake. Instead of sausage, I don’t put it in casings. It tastes like it’s from the other side of the Atchafalaya,” said 43-year-old Labat about his special recipe.
Labat is relatively new to the cooking world but said he has a varied cooking background from his work at restaurants such as the Palace Cafe in New Orleans, Jacmel Inn in Hammond and Nottoway Plantation in White Castle.
The boudin cake features crispy fried okra cooked right into the patty. The treat rests on a bed of fresh greens and is topped with a tangy remoulade sauce. Labat said he also has a few other specialties, such as eggplant soup and fried Des Allemands catfish.
“It’s important you say Des Allemands. People know what that means. It’s not basa,” he continued.
Labat referred to the fish as an “imitation catfish” that many restaurants use as a substitute, something that just won’t do for this chef. The new chef hopes to focus on using local products in his cooking. Labat said the focus on local is because the position is like a “welcome home” for him. The chef said he is well-known in the community through his parents.
“I want to bring a vision of food here that puts an emphasis on using local products and preparing them in ways that are an accurate reflection of River Parishes recipes, if I can help it,” said Labat.
Labat considers chicken and andouille gumbo, made without tomato or bell pepper, to be a “River Parishes recipe.”
“If you travel an hour in either direction and order gumbo, you’ll probably get it with tomato or bell peppers in it. Or bay leaf,” he explained.
Labat’s placement as head of the kitchen comes at the perfect time, as the club is in the midst of remodeling.
Randy Smith, the club’s course supervisor, said the country club had done a lot of work since the previous year. Though the building didn’t actually flood, Smith said Hurricane Isaac blew the building’s former metal patio cover up and over the roof, knocking down all of the stacks on top of the building and causing serious water leakage.
“We just gutted everything out of here and starting from scratch. We took what was a 50-year-old building and brought it up to today’s standards,” said Smith.
As a result, the club has made numerous changes, including new sheet rock and insulation, new floors, electrical work, plumbing and a new peaked roof. The rooms of the club were dropped and completely redesigned to feature a more open layout, with beams for aesthetics. A fireplace was added, and some rooms were expanded.
The biggest change is the club’s new black concrete bar. Labat said Riverlands Country Club may also consider opening for lunch specials.
Labat and Smith hope the changes will help bring in a fresh customer base and entice old members to come by more often.
“Add tablecloths and a smart menu, and people can come try it out and have a lunch. They can look around, see what it’s like and maybe increase the value of a membership. That’s the hope,” said Labat.