ROUSES_Fall2022_Magazine-low-res

TEAM ROUX

I don’t claim to be an expert on making a roux — although some people consider me a gu-roux — but as anyone who has been to one of my Rouses Markets cooking classes or has seen me on WALA in Mobile, Alabama, knows, I love to share what I know. And if there’s one thing you need to know to make a roux, it’s how to stir. That flattened wooden spoon in your hand needs to be an extension of your arm. As you stir, keep pushing the roux out to the edges. You need to make sure that every square inch of the pot is evenly scraped and stirred so that nothing sticks — because if it sticks, it’s going to scorch, and you’ll have to start all over again.

ROUX AT THE ZOO ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Every cook knows that the most important part of a good gumbo is the roux. But there is a new type of roux in New Orleans this summer that is getting a lot of attention — not for flavor, but for cuteness! Meet Roux, one of the newest residents at Audubon Zoo. The zoo welcomed the adorable newcomer on Christmas

Eve. Roux is a critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, and his birth is cause for celebration. Just as it takes patience to make a good roux, his human care team devoted hours lovingly working to make sure he was healthy. His name pays tribute to one of the key ingredients in making gumbo. In the wild, Sumatran orangutans spend almost all of their lives in the trees in the tropical rainforest. As their forests disappear, so too do the numbers of these beautiful animals. You don’t have to travel far to see Roux and his family up close. They have a large home at Audubon Zoo and are drawing plenty of guests eager to watch him grow. You’ll have to look closely; he is still small and clings tightly to his mother, Menari, as she climbs and plays with him in their zoo habitat. Audubon Zoo is a facility of the not-for-profit Audubon Nature Institute and is located at 6500 Magazine Street in New Orleans. To buy tickets or for more information visit www.auduboninstitute.org/tickets. 43 WWW. ROUSES . COM

– Chef Nino Thibodaux, chef for Rouses Markets