SUGAR LAND, Texas – After winning numerous gumbo competitions, brother and sister duo Wes Pate and Susan Armand are taking on a new challenge: launching their own brand of gluten free gumbo. When learning that a friend with Celiac disease was unable to sample their award-winning gumbo, they started working on a way to remedy it, believing that everyone is entitled to taste the savory flavors of their famous Cajun dish. Armand recalls how she first got into Cajun cooking.
“My husband is Cajun, and when we married I wanted to bring Louisiana home, so I made gumbo,” said Armand. “It was so good, we decided one time, ‘Let’s see if we can find a competition. Let’s see how we do.’ So we did, and we won.”
Armand partnered up with her brother Pate, and with the help of friends and family, took on the gumbo cooking competition world with force.
“In every competition we ever entered, we either won or placed in the 10 years that we did it,” said Armand.
This streak of wins includes their taking home 1st place in the World Championship Gumbo Cookoff, where they were the first team not from Louisiana to bring home the gold.
Armand has a friend who was an avid supporter of their gumbo team, but was never able to try their food because she had Celiac disease, a condition causing those affected to be severely sensitive to gluten.
“She asked me if I could please come up with a gluten-free version of it, and I tried,” said Armand. “It was ok, but not knowing anything about Celiac disease or gluten-free products, I didn’t really know what I was doing.”
She and Wes quickly got to work experimenting with different ways to improve their gluten-free recipe.
“We spent the better part of a year trying to come up with a recipe that was at least close to as good as our competition gumbo. We were basing our recipe on that from the start, and we finally did,” said Pate.
From there, the two began coming up with other gluten-free Cajun products like jambalaya and various sauces, to market to those with gluten sensitivities.
“We both have day jobs, and we do this on the weekends, in the evenings for something that is our passion,” said Pate.
Scroll down for a recipe of their easy to make gluten-free gumbo. To connect with Wantsumeaux Gumbeaux, click here.
WANTSUMEAUX GUMBEAUX RECIPE
Ingredients:
- Wantsumeaux Gumbeaux Mix
- 3.5 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup water
- Protein (pre-cooked chicken, sausage or crawfish; raw shrimp)
Directions:
- Add veggies to chicken broth; bring to a boil
- While broth comes to boil, combine dry roux with water; whisk until smooth
- Once broth boils, add roux mixture and stir until it begins to thicken
- Add seasoning to taste (less for mild, more for spicy)
- Add 1 - 1.5 pounds of protein (pre-cooked chicken, sausage & crawfish; raw shrimp)
- Reduce heat to low; cover & simmer for 30 min, stirring occasionally
- If using raw shrimp, don’t add it until the last 5 min.
- Serve & enjoy!
