CHEF JOHN FOLSE OPENED NEW MANUFACTURING PLANT IN DONALDSONVILLE, LA.

Chef John Folse & Company celebrated the grand opening of its new USDA food manufacturing plant Friday, January 14, 2004 at 10 a.m. Located three miles from the Sunshine Bridge in Donaldsonville, La., it serves as the anchor for new industrial development in the area.
The ceremony featured remarks by several area dignitaries such as Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan and State Rep. Roy Quezaire Jr., D-Donaldsonville. The invocation, benediction and blessing were given by the Most Rev. Robert Muench, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. Following the dedication, guests toured the manufacturing facility and were treated to lunch.

The 32,000-square-foot facility is capable of producing a minimum of 50 million pounds of product annually. It was designed to USDA specifications and houses an office for a full-time USDA employee to oversee operations. The plant will operate seven days a week, 364 days a year with approximately 100 culinologists, microbiologists and skilled laborers on staff.

Security and safety features have been taken a step further in the new plant. To ensure employees have proper access to the plant floor, a bioclock will scan each person’s fingerprints. The plant will also be under constant video surveillance.

Every product made for distribution begins with research and development in the Culinology Center. Culinology is a new term that refers to an emerging discipline that combines culinary arts and food technology. In the Culinology Center, the workers take a recipe that might serve six people and reproduce the flavor components to create a 5,000-pound batch. They also develop food concepts for clients with special requests.

Producing huge quantities of food products at the plant has been made possible with four kettles that produce 10 tons of product every hour. Each batch is tested at various stages for quality assurance and consistency.

The entire plant floor, with the exception of dry storage, is refrigerated. For storage of cold foods, the plant is equipped with a blast freezer operating at minus 40°F with 45 mph winds. With coolers and freezers at capacity, they are capable of holding 350,000 tons of product.

Chef John Folse & Company Manufacturing began in 1990 in the kitchen at his Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant. He received a phone call at the restaurant from a customer requesting a weekly order of 300 gallons of gumbo. This simple request resulted in the kitchen of Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant being turned into a mini-manufacturing operation. From this humble beginning, Chef John Folse & Company Manufacturing was born. It has since gained national prominence, producing more than 100 products for more than 60 foodservice distributors, retail locations and restaurant chains throughout the United States.

The manufacturing division has grown to national prominence with a customer base extending from the Gulf Coast to Canada and from California to Maine. The product line includes soups, sauces, vegetables, entrées, desserts and dry mixes, both fresh and frozen. These products are created for numerous national restaurant chains such as Shoney’s® and T.G.I. Friday’s®.

Chef John Folse is the owner and executive chef of his Louisiana-based corporations including Bittersweet Plantation Dairy, White Oak Plantation, Bittersweet Plantation Bed & Breakfast, Exceptional Endings Pastry Division, Chef John Folse & Company Manufacturing and Chef John Folse & Company Publishing. He is the author of seven cookbooks, most recently The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine. Chef Folse is featured in both radio and television programs worldwide, and he does a live cooking demonstration twice a week during WAFB’s television news broadcast in Baton Rouge, La. Additionally, the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University is named in his honor.

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