Barra, 58, has created a ready-to-use, dehydrated version of the trinity that's quickly gaining popularity with home cooks — and a few professional ones too — in their favorite Cajun dishes.
"When coupled with water and brought to a boil, it comes back to life just like you chopped it yourself," Barra says. "And when I show that to people, they're like 'Oh my God, so I don't have to go buy the vegetables, cut them up, go through that whole process just to cook a small meal?'"
Barra, a Youngsville man who works in corporate security, stumbled onto the idea in 2016 as he tried find a way to use leftover vegetables in his home garden.
He had experience making beef jerky on a small dehydrator and decided to do the same with bell pepper slices.
"The neighbors didn't want to hear about bell peppers anymore," Barra said with a laugh. "And so I basically just decided to chop them up and use them as I needed them. While I'm chopping the bell peppers, I see that I have onions in the pantry, and I'm like, 'Well, they're going to go bad too, so I'm going to go ahead and chop and dry them up.'"
And what are bell peppers and onions without celery? Barra decided to pick up celery to chop and dry alongside the onions and bell peppers to see how a dehydrated trinity might work.
Barra quickly realized that the dehydrated vegetables tasted wonderful. For the next six months, he experimented with the ratio of onion to bell pepper to celery.
His mother, who studied home economics in college, was impressed by his creation but offered advice that made all the difference.
"Typical mom, she said, 'This is wonderful,'" Barra said. "But then she looked at me and said, 'Food needs color. You got green and white. You need another color. How about red bell pepper?'"
Barra remembers thinking that red bell pepper wasn't part of "the purist trinity" but decided to give his mother's suggestion a try.
"It was the missing piece," Barra said. "It added a sweetness that was missing. It took it to the next level."
In 2017, Barra decided to share his creation with the community.
He bottled and named the dried vegetable blend C'est Tout, which is French for "That's all." Sometimes, it means "That's it!" or "That's all there is to it!"
Barra started attending Youngsville and Lafayette farmers markets, where he would demonstrate how C'est Tout worked by cooking jambalaya, gumbo or etouffee with the dehydrated vegetables.
"I would hand out samples of a dish made with C'est Tout," Barra said. "It's good recipes to begin with, and it made a big difference when people can see it used in a dish."
Later that year, C'est Tout appeared on shelves of small grocery stores and meat markets in Acadiana. It's since expanded to more than 50 retailers across the state.
Although Barra has created about 8,000 jars of C'est Tout to date, he continues to work full-time as a security consultant.
His career started decades ago while working security at a department store at the Acadiana Mall.
It's since taken him across the country as he worked to solve crimes that involved merchandise at large companies, including Home Depot and Procter & Gamble.
Once, he said, a criminal returned the shovel used in a murder to a home improvement store. Barra said he was able to locate the shovel on the store shelf to help authorities build the case.
Barra said he's investigated everything from Los Angeles gangs to the Russian mafia.
"Those days are over now," he said. "That's for the young kids. I've been on the consultant side for a while.
Barra lives in Youngsville with his wife, Monique, yellow lab, Roux, and two rabbits, Bindy and Emma.
He spends his free time hunting and fishing and volunteering for Hub Ministries, which serves meals and services to Lafayette's homeless population.
Having lived in Louisiana most of my life, I sometimes forget that the rest of the country isn’t familiar with the incredible Cajun culture.
As I’ve traveled around this great nation, people will often ask me why name is spelled Dreux. I always tell them that I’m Cajun. Their response is often “What exactly is a Cajun?”
The answer is an incredible story, and it helps explain why we hold our culture (and our cooking) so close to our hearts.
You see “Cajun” was originally “Acadian” (say it a few times fast with a French accent, and you’ll see how this happened.)
Acadia was an area that included most of the Canadian coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The Maratimes are now more commonly referred to as Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. It was an area that became populated with French settlers.
Unfortunately, during the French and Indian war, the British conducted The Great Expulsion. This campaign’s sole purpose was to drive Acadians out of the area and away from New France. Between 1755 and 1764, over 80% of Acadians were deported out of their homeland.
For a lucky few, their new home would be found in Southern Louisiana. They joined the Colonial French Settlers and French soldiers long before the Louisiana purchase made us part of the United States. Here, along the bayous, we established our own language (Cajun French), our own music, our own traditions, and of course, our own cuisine.
Today, the Cajun culture is alive and well. People come to our area the world over to enjoy all that Cajuns have to offer. Here, our rich history rings true, from the French-inspired architecture to the cuisine that is unmatched anywhere on earth. If you’ve never enjoyed a large bowl of gumbo, or sat in front of a platter of crawfish étouffée, trust me, you’re missing out.
And while we Cajuns love to cook, we also want to live life, and enjoy our free time. If there’s a way to avoid hassle and save time, you can guarantee that we’ll do it. And that, my friends, is what led me to create C’est Tout…. But that, as they say, is another story.
Until next time,
Dreux Barra
Chief Chopping Officer
C’est Tout
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Now, the Cajun Trinity, or the Cajun Holy Trinity, is a perfect mix of onions, celery, and green bell peppers. Put together, they create one of the incredible flavors of Cajun Cuisine.
As a Cajun cook, I always tried to have the Cajun Trinity at hand, but keeping fresh vegetables at home isn’t always practical… and I grow many of my own!
The problem was that I always needed the Cajun Trinity at hand, but I didn’t always have fresh veggies. Even when I did, they often went bad before I had the chance to use them.
Then one day, in my own kitchen, I found the solution! I had more fresh veggies from my garden than I could possibly use before they went bad. So, I took delicious yellow onions, green onions, celery, as well as green and red bell peppers, mixed them in perfect proportions, and dehydrated them.
The result was a perfect blend of seasoning vegetables that no true Cajun could live without. They rehydrate in just two minutes in water or stock, and create a perfect base for my favorite dishes. It worked so well, that I shared it with my friends, and before long, they shared it with their friends, and soon, I was getting requests from people all over with offers to buy my Cajun Trinity Mix.
I knew why they liked it – it was finally easy to have the taste of fresh ingredients without the trip to the grocery store, and without the hassle! I started putting them in bottles and sending them out… people were amazed that each jar held the equivalent of five full cups of fresh vegetables! To prepare, all of you had to do was just add liquid – that’s all!
“That’s all.” Seemed like a good name, but I’m Cajun, so “that’s all” didn’t quite do. That’s why I call it C’est Tout!
The rest, as they say is history. What ended up being a great idea quickly became a business, and now we’re shipping C’est Tout all over the country, and we’re hearing from new fans who are enjoying the Cajun Trinity in every corner of the United States.
If you haven’t had C’est Tout, all I ask is that you give us a try, and let me know what you think. We love hearing from our customers, and certainly appreciate your support.
Happy cooking, and let me know if you need any of my secret recipes to try out C’est Tout!
Dreux Barra
Chief Chopping Officer
C’est Tout
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