Where Creole Meets Country
Growing up steps away from the storied French Quarter, New Orleans native Janice Davis has a passion for food that started at a very early age. Born into a family of cooks, from age 3 Janice would sit in the kitchen of her 7th Ward home and watch her mother bake and cook. Playing with left-over dough and ingredients, she mimicked what she saw. From there, she started cooking in earnest at age 13, when she was presented with the challenge of preparing an entire Easter Dinner for her family when her mother fell ill.
Since leaving New Orleans, Janice has lived and cooked all over the country, baking and cooking her way into the hearts of friends, family and colleagues. Her gumbo, king cake, rum cake, homemade jellies and sausage are just a sampling of her culinary repertoire. Janice has spent weekends cooking and baking for guests at her ranch in Freestone County, Texas. She has created dozens of events of all kinds, as grand as weddings and as casual as back-yard get-togethers.
On August 29, 2005 New Orleans became center stage as Hurricane Katrina tracked her way through the City, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. The recovery continues to this day. Families have left. Companies have closed. The heart of the City still struggles. Many of New Orleans speciality foods are in scarce supply, if available at all. In this vacuum, Janice found her passion.
At her ranch, Janice uses each weekend as an opportunity to create new recipes and further perfected old ones. Realizing that a long-standing New Orleans favorite had become hard to find in post-Katrina New Orleans, one of the recipes that Janice decided to create was a New Orleans Style Hot Sausage. Now created, tested and perfected her beautifuly created sausage has become center stage for a growing line of all natural preservative free culinary delights.
Now with the blessings and encouragement of well-fed family and friends, Janice has decided to share her culinary passion with the world. C’est si bon!!!
34 miles east of San Antonio, you will find a small Texas town named Seguin, the home of Ray Zies. From early on, when Ray wasn’t playing with his friends or climbing Seguin’s famous pecan trees, he was in the kitchen with his mom, always ready to help. By age 10, a hearty appetite coupled with a passion for creating made Ray a natural in the kitchen. He was preparing pancakes and bacon on weekends and cooking an occasional dinner for the family. Like Janice, Ray enjoys sharing his passion for food with others. Whether it is chicken or steaks or everyone’s favorite – baby back ribs, fresh off the grill or hot from the smoker, Ray has the right rub. Ray also shares his mom’s love of canning and preserving.
Together, they make the Rockin J R Ranch a culinary delight!