Our Story
The Acadian Kitchens Timeline
From South Louisiana to Kitchens Across the Country
1980
Ragin’ Cajun Foods is founded in Lake Charles, Louisiana by former MLB pitcher Ray Fontenot, bringing the bold, soulful flavors of Cajun country to grocery shelves.
1984
Tom Riggs establishes Southern Seasonings in Broussard, Louisiana—committed to crafting authentic Cajun products with quality and care.
1988
Southern Seasonings acquires Ragin’ Cajun Foods, combining forces to grow the brand throughout South Louisiana and beyond.
1990
Rick Lane launches Cajun’s Choice Louisiana Foods, a premium line of Cajun seasonings inspired by the rich culinary traditions of Louisiana.
2005
Southern Seasonings expands again, acquiring Cajun’s Choice and uniting three authentic Louisiana brands under one roof.
2017
Acadian Kitchens LLC is formed to acquire Southern Seasonings and bring these legacy brands to a national audience, all while staying true to their Louisiana roots.
2020
Founder Tom Riggs retires. A new leadership team steps in: Paul Leleux as CEO and Ryan Schemmel as Chief Commercial Officer, bringing fresh vision while honoring the company’s roots.
2021
Ragin’ Cajun Foods™ reintroduces itself to the world with a bold new logo, packaging refresh, and modernized brand—still rooted in tradition, now with a broader reach.
2023
Cajun’s Choice™ undergoes a full rebrand, aligning with Ragin’ Cajun’s momentum. Together, both brands are positioned to quadruple in size over the coming years.
2024
Acadian Kitchens invests in growth with the purchase and build-out of a new 35,000 sq. ft. facility in Lafayette, Louisiana, housing manufacturing, distribution, and offices—a true home for bold Cajun flavor.
Take yourself to another time and place where culinary excellence meets the finest blend of flavors you can find without having to leave your kitchen. We at Acadian Kitchens carefully fuse authentic and diverse tastes of Louisiana's Creole and Cajun cultures to bring you traditional, bold flavors, proudly from the land.
From Louisiana’s robust, country food with French and Southern influences to the polished tastes of New Orleans, we offer the seasonings and fixings you need to create authentic, vibrant, and simply delicious dishes.
The story of Cajun's Choice is about staying true to one of America's most unique regional cuisines. Our products are derived from original recipes, containing more spice and less salt than national brands.
The Cajun’s Choice seasoning blends use only the highest quality, all natural, non-GMO and clean ingredients. Garden-fresh vegetables - commonly onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper, are mixed with fresh peppers, herbs and spices grown locally or imported from premium growing regions. These herbs and spices, blended with flavors only found in Cajun country, create seasonings and condiments that are true to this region.
Cajun’s Choice is sold nationwide in key accounts such as Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Publix, Sprouts, Harris Teeter, Delhaize, WinCo, Wakefern, Winn-Dixie, Ingles, Topps, Hy-Vee, Schnuck’s and several national independent wholesale distributors.
What separates us from our competition is our dedication to remaining true to the heritage of Cajun cooking. From our manufacturing location in the heart of Cajun country, to our specially designed roux pots that cook our small batch runs for over 10 hours before they are bottled, our devotion to authenticity will never waiver.
We let the quality of our products speak for themselves. Our choice to source only the highest quality ingredients is backed by our decision not to hide the taste of those ingredients by over seasoning with salt like our competitors. Our Bean Mixes have 12 different spices and vegetables with our Seasonings proudly calling out “More Spice, Less Salt” because we want people to taste authentic food the way it should be.
Ragin Cajun products are designed with timesaving simplicity in mind. From our 3-step Dry Bean preparation process (Rinse, Beans, Add Seasoning Packet, Cook) to our 2-step Shrimp Creole Sauce and Etouffee Mix (Add Protein, Cook), we’ve made cooking gourmet Cajun/Creole dishes at home an easy choice for the first-timer or culinary expert.