Crawfish Haven: Catch, Cook, and Sleep Like a True Cajun
By Christopher LeCoq
In the heart of Acadiana, just about 35 minutes from the Louisiana city of Lafayette, sits a retreat where you can catch, cook, and sleep like a true Cajun. Welcome to Crawfish Haven/ Mrs. Rose’s Bed and Breakfast where owner & proprietor Barry Toups finds joy in introducing guests from around the world to authentic Cajun living.
The small Acadian style home was built in 1903 and sits on 28 acres in the heart of Cajun country. It is a picturesque reminder of the rustic charm found historically in south Louisiana. In 2010, Barry purchased some of the property adjacent to the home for his commercial crawfishing business. Every spring he would spend hours in the ponds and on the property harvesting crawfish and eventually became to be close friends with Mrs. Rose Robichaux, who was born in and lived in the house her entire life. One spring, Barry brought some out-of-town relatives with him crawfishing when one of them said, “This was so much fun, you should take people crawfishing this way.” Upon her death in 2013 at the age of 92, Barry purchased the remainder of the property with the home from her family and the idea for Crawfish Haven was put in motion. It was only fitting that he would pay homage to Mrs. Rose by naming the home Mrs. Rose’s Bed & Breakfast.
The highlight of a stay at Crawfish Haven is the unique experience of a crawfishing excursion in the late winter & spring months. This is when guests can get hands-on harvesting crawfish. Guests become a deckhand riding along with Barry in the crawfish ponds, pulling traps out of the water and dumping them onto a sorting table and sifting through each catch tossing the smaller crawfish back and corralling the “eating size” ones into a sack. A crawfishing excursion is a fun experience for all ages. “It’s really unique,” explains Barry, “and we will educate you all about crawfish. We teach you about the life cycle of a crawfish, how many eggs they carry, how to tell a male from a female, and we offer a little Cajun twist too.” A typical crawfishing excursion lasts just a couple of hours, and the spacious, covered crawfishing boats allow the activity to normally take place in rain or shine as long as crawfish are in season. And if a Cajun seafood boil is a meal you crave, there’s no better way to enjoy a spicy pile of boiled crawfish than watching them come fresh from the pond to the boiling pot, knowing that you helped to get them there. After your morning crawfish excursion, relax at the covered gazebo on a stocked bream & bass pond, soaking in the tranquility of country living. Or take a short ride to some of the historic nearby towns of Cajun country.
Facts about mudbugs
There are 2 species of crawfish in Louisiana: The red swamp crawfish & the white river crawfish.
Annual statewide commercial harvest of crawfish can range from 10,000 tons in a slow year or 27,000 tons on a good year
The crawfish industry contributes over $300 million annually to the Louisiana economy
1/4 pound of crawfish tail meat contains only 82 calories
Louisiana leads the nation in domestic crawfish production in the USA.
The #1 predator for a crawfish, is a hungry Cajun!
There’s much more to this Cajun paradise than crawfishing excursions. A stay can be customized for just a few hour visit for a Cajun meal or cooking class, to reserving the entire house for a weekend stay. Barry enjoys preparing authentic Cajun meals for his guests, some are family recipes straight from his very own cookbook. Crawfish Haven/ Mrs. Rose’ Bed & Breakfast is a great site to host group outings, weddings, family vacations, or couples’ getaways. Guests have traveled from across the world to experience the true Cajun hospitality that is shared with each visitor. Just one visit and you’ll be thinking of making it an annual getaway. You can find more information online at crawfishhaven.net
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