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  • (playful piano music)

  • - [Woman] Deep in the bayou, on this street, down this road,

  • in this windowless tin shack, is a restaurant

  • run by one woman, whose dishes are so good,

  • you have to wait a year to try them.

  • - I'm Alzina Toups and I've been cooking Cajun food

  • for at least over 60 years.

  • (playful piano music)

  • (upbeat jazz music)

  • - [Woman] Welcome to Alazina's.

  • A Cajun restaurant with no staff and no menu.

  • Just Chef Alzina and her kitchen.

  • And it's housed in one of the most unassuming places.

  • A former welding shop that was once owned by her son.

  • - I turned this into kitchen because I loved cooking.

  • And you don't have that big bump in the middle.

  • - Right.

  • - My son was in the process of moving to a bigger place

  • so instead of closing it,

  • he asked me if I wanted to convert this.

  • So I converted into a kitchen.

  • I wanted to be open.

  • Where I cook and where they eat.

  • Because they can see what you're doing.

  • Most of the people that come,

  • they want to take part in what you do.

  • Cajun food I think is the best food in the world.

  • I was raised on it.

  • To me it's simple cooking.

  • You start with your bell pepper.

  • You have onion, you have garlic, a lot of garlic,

  • celery, and then you saute that in a small amount of oil.

  • And then you start adding your other ingredients.

  • Whatever you're cooking, if it's a gumbo or jambalaya

  • or fried shrimp, what's better than that?

  • (playful instrumental music)

  • - [Woman] As good as that sounds,

  • eating at Alzina's can be tricky.

  • There are no walk-ins and reservations

  • can only be made by calling her on her landline phone.

  • - Thank you for calling.

  • I didn't want walk-in because I think

  • I would have been very unhappy.

  • I live a simple life and this is the way I like my life.

  • Simple.

  • No computer, just a simple telephone.

  • I'm booked up until next year.

  • I'm always booked up in a year advance.

  • And I like it better that way.

  • - [Woman] Over those 40 years, Alzina's has been

  • pretty successful garnering the attention of magazines,

  • politicians and celebrity chefs.

  • People from all over the world have flocked

  • to Alzina's kitchen for her authentic Cajun food.

  • But for Alzina, the experience

  • is all about making people feel at home.

  • Like a family.

  • - When people come, it's a tin building.

  • So they see where we're at and you don't realize

  • that it's here.

  • But when they step in the kitchen,

  • it's a different world.

  • I really think they're happy.

  • I feel the peace in the kitchen and then they mingle,

  • family that haven't seen each other for maybe a year,

  • two, three years.

  • It bring happiness to them.

  • And it bring happiness to me.

  • I was born to serve, not to be served.

  • (playful piano music)

(playful piano music)

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