Today we’d like to introduce you to Levi Clark.

Levi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

My journey started in New Orleans, LA. The mecca of Creole & Cajun cuisine. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by the food culture surrounding Louisiana. Particularly NOLA, where food culture is a multi-cultural effort! Immersed in the culture first hand I had no choice but to embrace the wonders that crossed my palate. As a teenager, my passion for creating began. I recall my first dish being an extremely simple shrimp scampi. It was nothing but heaps of butter, seasoned shrimp and linguine. I would make this for my family and see their faces light up. That would eventually lead to some simple baking and preparation for dinner occasionally in my household. While in high school, we were tasked with a senior project that would span two years of research and would be completed with a live demo upon graduation. I chose the culinary route and my topic was the differences between Creole & Cajun cuisine.

For my demo, I prepared 2 versions of jambalaya for the student body to sample and explained the findings of my research. During my research, I was led to the legendary restaurant Dooky Chase’s in New Orleans by an English teacher, little did I know, about two years late, I would be working there alongside the Legendary “Queen of Creole Cuisine” Mrs. Leah Chase. I started my culinary career at John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA in the fall of 2008. I chose JFCI because it was the best place to further study Creole and Cajun cuisine but also because it was the only University to offer a 4-year degree in the field! My official introduction to Dooky Chase came two years into college where we start our externships. I remember how hard it was to get in touch with Mrs. Chase to even inquire about an externship. She was a very busy woman after all but everything went through her first! Eventually, I would get through and she accepts my request. From there, I worked my way up from line cook to sous chef. I have many fond memories from those days and cherish every lesson I learned while there. It was a complete honor to work alongside Mrs. Chase as I was able to really get to know her in a way most people never do. She taught me about the business and how to operate a business. She gave me more than culinary knowledge she gave me life lessons that I keep in my heart and in the heart of my business. I have many stories about Mrs. Chase and can go on for days. I would eventually leave as to grow and figure out things in my personal life.

During this time, I was in a long distance relationship with my now beautiful wife Ashlee, whom I also met in culinary school. She is also a talented chef in her own right. She lived in Houston, Tx. We would eventually marry and settle in central Texas for a few years. It was here that Laginappe Kitchen was concepted. Lagniappe traditionally means to give something as a bonus or a gift. In Louisiana, lagniappe could range from a discount on goods or even a business owner giving you a free doughnut when you buy a dozen. At Lagniappe Kitchen, we want to give that unique dining experience as that bonus. While speaking with my wife we decided that we feel the art of real authentic cuisine & the art of fine dining has been lost on common consumers and would love to educate people through dining experiences.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

This journey for me has been evolutionary and has grown at an organic pace for this phase in my life. It has not come without its difficulties, unfortunately. The largest challenge for me is marketing and translating my business for different markets. I am also new to entrepreneurship so I am learning as I go. I am blessed to be able to move at my own pace with my business which is not afforded to most. It allows me time for trial and error to see what best works for me and my business. I am currently an Executive Chef in the industry in Dallas, Tx so most of my free time goes to my business and family.

Please tell us about Laginappe Kitchen.

Lagniappe Kitchen originally formed out of my distaste for the lack of impeccable service & food quality in many food establishments today. I love to dine as often as I can and try to support other restaurants. I found many to be subpar for even basic restaurant standards and wanted to create a concept that focused on the essentials of dining. We specialize in all areas of the market. From fine dining meals, meal prep, cooking classes and consulting. I have worked in all areas of foodservice from school food, fine dining, food truck, etc. Lagniappe Kitchen can really meet any needs of our customers. As a chef, it is my job to educate myself on what my clients desire. I strive for authenticity in all aspects of the job. We set ourselves apart by being exclusively us. I specialize in Creole & Cajun cuisine but what that really means is Lagniappe Kitchen is all about mixing flavors. So, we are very well rounded with cuisines of all cultures. We just want our customers to always walk away with a full belly and a little lagniappe to remember us by!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?

I love the Mardi Gras season. I can just remember while in school. Every week, a student would have to bring in a king cake for the class. If you got the baby inside, you were next to bring one!

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Image Credit:

Levi Clark, Ashlee Clark

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