Chef ‘T’ opens restaurant in memory of her mom’s cooking
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – If it comes down to the flavors and delicious food that Chef Tara ‘T’ Williams is now cooking at her first restaurant, Creole Sisters, there is little doubt she will be a big success.
The only problem she may have to overcome, said her husband and business partner Joe, is one thing.
“She has always given away so much food to people—it’s just her nature to bless people, and everyone loves her food,” Joe said with a laugh. “I keep telling her, it’s OK to be nice, but now we are trying to have success with a business.”
Creole Sisters, open in Slidell since last September at 1480 Gause Blvd. in the corner business strip mall, is more than a very unique Slidell restaurant serving all original Creole dishes.
‘T’ has a great story behind what she is doing, and surprisingly to most, the “Sisters” in the business name is not from one of the sisters she grew up with in a family with five kids.
‘T’ said she was like many young girls who grew up in a New Orleans home where her mother was “an amazing Creole cook.”
But she wasn’t alone.
Her mother, Joycelyn Navarre, had three sisters who all got together and cooked every Friday. In a modest Southern home, the family didn’t always have all the greatest and most expensive ingredients. But what they did have was an incredible amount of love and willingness to help others behind the original recipes from Joycelyn and her sisters.
“My mom and her sisters would all look in the refrigerator or pantry and say, ‘I have some chicken,’ or ‘I have some potatoes.’ Then they would all get together and cook up the greatest tasting food ever,” ‘T’ said. “The best thing about Creole food is that the flavors are so delicious. Once people try the food we are cooking, they usually come back.”
‘T’ said that the name of the restaurant, Creole Sisters, is a tribute to her mother since it really refers to her mom and herself.
“I used to always tell my mom that she needed to open a restaurant, but she never did,” ‘T’ said. “That’s why I always had a goal to one day open a restaurant to keep her legacy going.”
To that end, there is a picture of her mother on the wall to constantly remind everyone about the connection to the person who taught Chef ‘T’ how to cook.
‘T’ said that Creole dishes are birthed from New Orleans and include Spanish, African and French cultures. Once she became an adult, she began to work in kitchens in area hospitals and assisted living centers, before the popularity of her food led to the start of her catering business in 2016. Building a growing clientele on Facebook, she said it was a step of faith to try the restaurant after eight years.
“I was excited to open, but the money to do this has always been an issue, so there is a little fear in it,” she admitted. “But we are Christians who believed God would supply what we needed and that’s how we did it. We had friends, especially great support from Crossfire Church in Slidell, who helped us get this open with equipment and other things. So, I’m very grateful we are now open for business.”
When asked what the top three most popular dishes were she began to say, “Creole Gumbo, Jambalaya, Creole Stuffed Bell Peppers, Butter Beans….” and then realized she had trouble narrowing down a small list.
“The truth is that with all these original recipes that started with my mom, the food here all has such great flavors. Take the first week when we did Smothered Turkey Necks. We cooked 30 pounds and it was sold out in an hour. Then we did 50 pounds and sold out, and now we do 70 pounds a week,” she remarked.
‘T’ has also begun to sell her own products like Creole Mayonnaise, Fish Fry, Chicken Fry, Butter Beans, and different spices and sauces.
The word about Creole Sisters is definitely getting around as she said they have customers drive in from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, New Orleans and western St. Tammany. One man waiting for his order said he was from Houston but always stops at Creole Sisters when he comes this way.
When asked about her favorite recipe to eat after a long day, she laughed when telling another story about her mom.
“When my mama would ask what I wanted to eat I always had a favorite—smoked sausage, weenies, spaghetti and tomato gravy,” she said. “It’s a poor man’s meal, but the flavors are so good.”
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Friday and closed on weekends. You can call in a phone order for pickup or delivery at 985-288-0505.
You can also find more information online at: creolesistersNOLA.com