My Nola My Story: Vaucresson Sausage
Title
My Nola My Story: Vaucresson Sausage
Format
Video
Subject
This is an interview with Vance Vaucresson, owner of Vaucresson Creole & Deli.
Description
Vaucresson Creole Cafe & Deli is part of My Nola, My Story, a Digital Humanities project by Xavier University of Louisiana's Mass Communication department students, led by Dr. Shearon Roberts. This report is produced by Zora Thomas
Creator
Zora Thomas
Source
My Nola My Story via YouTube
Rights
My Nola, My Story
Relation
My Nola, My Story 2017 Exhibit.
Language
English
Type
Adobe Premier, video
Identifier
https://youtu.be/4iLuRxczPIs
Coverage
A Digital Humanities project by Xavier University of Louisiana's Mass Communication department students, led by Dr. Shearon Roberts
Original Format
Transcription
(Intro Narration)
Vaucresson Creole Cafe and Deli has been a staple restaurant and deli providing for the Seventh Ward NOLA community for over 100 years in three generations. When you come inside you are welcomed warmly by the staff that make you feel a part of the Vaucresson family, with the sounds and smells and delicious tastes that our unique to this shop. Here with us today is the man that has stories to share about his family sausages in New Orleans.
(Vance Vaucresson)
My name is Vance Vaucresson, I am a third generation sausage maker, a member of a family that has had a business in the seven for over 122 year. In the past, we've had a restaurant on Bourbon Street in the 1960s. My father arrived at Sunny Vaucresson open them and it was the first business opened by black men Post-Reconstruction on Bourbon Street. Vaucress Cafe Creole, as it was known was open for about 10 years. And then after that, we went on to continue the sausage making business formal sausage company in 98. Here at this location at 1800 St. Bernard Avenue.
(Narration)
Mr. Vance graduated from Morehouse in 1992. When he finished college, his father asked him to come back to help run the shop, they would work alongside each other for the next seven years.
(Vance Vaucresson)
It was iron sharpening. I realize he was preparing for the day when he didn't pass, which was 98. He had a massive heart attack on All Saints Day, November 1st. and he passed. And so I resumed my activities November 2nd., and walked in her and kept everything going from 98 until Katrina hit, 2006. It wasn't easy. So it took us a number of years to come up with what we want to do next. And now we had our grand opening this past Friday. Today, it's the 29th of November. And we now have Vaucresson's Creole cafe and deli, the merger of Vaucresson' Cafe Creole in the 60s and Vaucresson meat market, where put them all into one. Where we now go back to serving our community again, where serve our famous po-boys which have been featured in the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and French Quarter festival, where we are original vendors, food vendors, and also providing our freshly made sausages and deli items just like we did when we had we want
(Narration)
Mr. Vance talked about the importance of community and the people involved in helping keep their family business a success. Let's meet some of them
(Garret Chachere - chef)
So what I'm about to mix here is our Italian size it's already been run through that we have the Vaucresson secret seasoning mix. I've been a close friend of the Vaucresson's for a long time and I don't even know the secret she knows better be good. So when you mix it It smells smells delicious.
(Duane Elton Cruse Jr. - chef)
Vance Vaucresson is my frat brother. Alpha Phi Alpha. I've known Vance for years. Came home to New Orleans and connected with him and we've been cooking buddies ever since.
I got a request for sausage without the casing so now I gotta take it out.
(Chef)
Yeah you got the assortments you got your crawfish right there. You got your hot right there. You got the Italian, jerk, and chicken all type of assortments. Whatever people desire.
(Zora)
What's your favorite?
(Chef)
Um, the crawfish y'rd me like yeah, it's like sea foodie and hot at the same time and I like that, yeah.
(Julie Vaucresson - co owner and wife of Vance Vaucresson)
It's bigger than the company is bigger than the cafe or the deli. It's a legacy. And I think the biggest thing for me right now is every day I get to talk to the people. They tell me the history that how they would come here as a child I'll, how they, their grandparents, how they've gotten sausage for years, it's 123 year old, that has been in the community, working in the community living in the community. And it's just it's a beautiful thing, even my employees tell us that it's bigger than them, and they're so happy to be a part of it.
(Vance Vaucresson)
Now, see this, these wonderful people here are longtime stewards of the community. These are the Temptons, and the Temptons have family and have served the community for generations, and have been social, economic, and community oriented. And I'm so thankful that they came.
(Mr. Tempton)
And we've referred more than we visited. So this is a spot to come. Yes.
(Vance Vaucresson)
And them referal fees are gonna get him a free meal. I'm gonna have to get him a punch card.
(Narration)
Being in New Orleans for over 120 years focus in Delhi has created many relationships with people in the community. But he's also gone through many changes and challenges regarding business and family. One of the biggest challenges for Vance folkerson, was bouncing back from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to where we are in the present.
(Vance Vaucresson)
Plus, New Orleans was wiped clean. I mean, had an entire city that had to start over. It was unprecedented. So this neighbor was adversely affected by the flood water. It took a while for him to come back. So when you're talking about bringing your business back to a neighborhood, that was still a ghost town for a number of years, it was difficult. Plus, I lived out of town for two years after the storm until we could come back and rebuild. So our journey took a long time. There's a lot of personal things that kept me from really putting all my efforts back into rebuilding. But even though I contemplated letting it go, having so many conversations, and my mother said, you know, just let the storm be your reason for not coming back, And she knew I had some other desires and some other passions. (Begins to sing). Singing is a passion of mine passionate. Music, theater, acting, songwriting, storytelling, something like that we'll do some thing but going up with these responsibilities, these legacies, learning how to make sausage, how to make different items, seeing the relationship that this business had with the community community, you can't just let that go. Sometimes you have to decide are you going to pursue a career that you have to build from scratch not knowing what's going to happen? Or do you want to take on responsibility to step into an established legacy and meet the challenge to perform in hopes to maintain something that pays homage to your ancestors who came before you. My name is Vance Vaucresson and this is My NOLA, My Story,
(Credits Roll)
Vaucresson Creole Cafe and Deli has been a staple restaurant and deli providing for the Seventh Ward NOLA community for over 100 years in three generations. When you come inside you are welcomed warmly by the staff that make you feel a part of the Vaucresson family, with the sounds and smells and delicious tastes that our unique to this shop. Here with us today is the man that has stories to share about his family sausages in New Orleans.
(Vance Vaucresson)
My name is Vance Vaucresson, I am a third generation sausage maker, a member of a family that has had a business in the seven for over 122 year. In the past, we've had a restaurant on Bourbon Street in the 1960s. My father arrived at Sunny Vaucresson open them and it was the first business opened by black men Post-Reconstruction on Bourbon Street. Vaucress Cafe Creole, as it was known was open for about 10 years. And then after that, we went on to continue the sausage making business formal sausage company in 98. Here at this location at 1800 St. Bernard Avenue.
(Narration)
Mr. Vance graduated from Morehouse in 1992. When he finished college, his father asked him to come back to help run the shop, they would work alongside each other for the next seven years.
(Vance Vaucresson)
It was iron sharpening. I realize he was preparing for the day when he didn't pass, which was 98. He had a massive heart attack on All Saints Day, November 1st. and he passed. And so I resumed my activities November 2nd., and walked in her and kept everything going from 98 until Katrina hit, 2006. It wasn't easy. So it took us a number of years to come up with what we want to do next. And now we had our grand opening this past Friday. Today, it's the 29th of November. And we now have Vaucresson's Creole cafe and deli, the merger of Vaucresson' Cafe Creole in the 60s and Vaucresson meat market, where put them all into one. Where we now go back to serving our community again, where serve our famous po-boys which have been featured in the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and French Quarter festival, where we are original vendors, food vendors, and also providing our freshly made sausages and deli items just like we did when we had we want
(Narration)
Mr. Vance talked about the importance of community and the people involved in helping keep their family business a success. Let's meet some of them
(Garret Chachere - chef)
So what I'm about to mix here is our Italian size it's already been run through that we have the Vaucresson secret seasoning mix. I've been a close friend of the Vaucresson's for a long time and I don't even know the secret she knows better be good. So when you mix it It smells smells delicious.
(Duane Elton Cruse Jr. - chef)
Vance Vaucresson is my frat brother. Alpha Phi Alpha. I've known Vance for years. Came home to New Orleans and connected with him and we've been cooking buddies ever since.
I got a request for sausage without the casing so now I gotta take it out.
(Chef)
Yeah you got the assortments you got your crawfish right there. You got your hot right there. You got the Italian, jerk, and chicken all type of assortments. Whatever people desire.
(Zora)
What's your favorite?
(Chef)
Um, the crawfish y'rd me like yeah, it's like sea foodie and hot at the same time and I like that, yeah.
(Julie Vaucresson - co owner and wife of Vance Vaucresson)
It's bigger than the company is bigger than the cafe or the deli. It's a legacy. And I think the biggest thing for me right now is every day I get to talk to the people. They tell me the history that how they would come here as a child I'll, how they, their grandparents, how they've gotten sausage for years, it's 123 year old, that has been in the community, working in the community living in the community. And it's just it's a beautiful thing, even my employees tell us that it's bigger than them, and they're so happy to be a part of it.
(Vance Vaucresson)
Now, see this, these wonderful people here are longtime stewards of the community. These are the Temptons, and the Temptons have family and have served the community for generations, and have been social, economic, and community oriented. And I'm so thankful that they came.
(Mr. Tempton)
And we've referred more than we visited. So this is a spot to come. Yes.
(Vance Vaucresson)
And them referal fees are gonna get him a free meal. I'm gonna have to get him a punch card.
(Narration)
Being in New Orleans for over 120 years focus in Delhi has created many relationships with people in the community. But he's also gone through many changes and challenges regarding business and family. One of the biggest challenges for Vance folkerson, was bouncing back from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to where we are in the present.
(Vance Vaucresson)
Plus, New Orleans was wiped clean. I mean, had an entire city that had to start over. It was unprecedented. So this neighbor was adversely affected by the flood water. It took a while for him to come back. So when you're talking about bringing your business back to a neighborhood, that was still a ghost town for a number of years, it was difficult. Plus, I lived out of town for two years after the storm until we could come back and rebuild. So our journey took a long time. There's a lot of personal things that kept me from really putting all my efforts back into rebuilding. But even though I contemplated letting it go, having so many conversations, and my mother said, you know, just let the storm be your reason for not coming back, And she knew I had some other desires and some other passions. (Begins to sing). Singing is a passion of mine passionate. Music, theater, acting, songwriting, storytelling, something like that we'll do some thing but going up with these responsibilities, these legacies, learning how to make sausage, how to make different items, seeing the relationship that this business had with the community community, you can't just let that go. Sometimes you have to decide are you going to pursue a career that you have to build from scratch not knowing what's going to happen? Or do you want to take on responsibility to step into an established legacy and meet the challenge to perform in hopes to maintain something that pays homage to your ancestors who came before you. My name is Vance Vaucresson and this is My NOLA, My Story,
(Credits Roll)
Duration
9:21
Compression
MP4
Producer
Zora Thomas
Director
Dr. Shearon Roberts
Files
