It’s the first Friday of Lent, meaning for those who honor it, there will be lots of seafood dinners.
In 2017, Lent brought in about $1 billion in seafood sales across the nation.
“I need a live sack of crawfish,” ordered one of the many customers at the seafood market Chez Francois on Evangeline Thruway.
This 40-day period is the biggest time of year for the seafood industry.
“We’ll probably start doing three, four, five times what we were doing two weeks ago. We do 75 percent of our business between today and July the fourth,” said owner Andre Leger.
It’s something he says they prepare for all year.
“It’s a preparation. It takes all year because everything is so seasonal. We buy catfish all year long, put it in the freezer, prepare for Lent. Same thing with crawfish and crabmeat,” Leger said.
They have plenty of options for everybody.
“Shrimp, oysters, turtle meat, alligator, frog legs, speckled trout, garfish, catfish… Oh yeah, we do it all,” he said.
Leger said Friday’s most popular dish is crawfish. (KATC’s Dannielle Garcia approved.)
