Chef Mike is a direct decedent of the original Cajuns that landed on the banks of St. Martinville, Louisiana in 1755 from the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They brought with them values of faith, family, and community, and created a unique culture of food, music, and dance. At a very early age, Chef Mike learned and developed Cajun and Creole cuisine from his grandmothers and his GREAT grandmothers, women who by their very vitality and longevity allowed him to touch his past, savor the present, and carry his ancestry into the future hopefully for generations to come. He has named several of his dishes to honor their legacy. Chef Mike has been in the hospitality industry for more than 30+ years, and has become one of the most highly consumer-rated chefs and restaurateurs in the state of Louisiana. He has held positions as Executive Chef and Chef de Cuisine for several noteworthy restaurants throughout the Southern United States. In the mid-80s, Chef Mike opened his first restaurant Mighty Mike's, which immediately became famous for two of his original dishes - “Shrimp Mighty Mike” and “The Creole Burger". His latest successful adventure was the much beloved and celebrated Cajun Mike's Kitchen. The motivating force behind Cajun Mike’s Kitchen was simple - to bring authentic Cajun cuisine east of the Mississippi River. Over the course of almost three centuries, Cajun cuisine and Creole cuisine influenced each other, borrowed from each other, and ultimately merged in a style of cooking called "melange". But Chef Mike wanted to open his family vault of recipes and feature the original Cajun cuisine of his grandmothers and great grandmothers, as well as highlight the Creole cuisine he learned in his development as chef in Southern Louisiana, and in doing so honor each of their unique, enduring qualities. Cajun Mike's Kitchen received over 1,000 Five Star reviews across several platforms, achieved and maintained a 4.9 rating on Facebook, 4.7 on GOOGLE, 4.5 on TripAdvisor and Yelp!, won the Restaurant of Excellence Award from TripAdvisor and Yelp's "People Love Us" Award, and was widely covered and lauded by the local press. Chef Mike is the author of the soon-to-be released cookbook, From Cajun Mike’s Kitchen, hosted a weekly radio program called "Cooking with Cajun", and has advised several local culinary institutions and festivals. Chef Mike’s unending motivation and hope is for everyone to have an experience that celebrates and continues the legacy of his people's unique culture, history, food, and those values of family and community, all right there at your dinner table. So bon appetit! And laissez les bons temps rouler!