Sandwiched Between New Orleans And Baton Rouge Is 'The Jambalaya Capital Of The World'

Gonzales is a town between towns, a place people often pass through on their way somewhere else. But for diehard jambalaya-lovers, this oft-overlooked, supremely underrated city between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is a gilded destination in its own right. Welcome to Gonzales, Louisiana — "The Jambalaya Capital of the World." The official City of Gonzales website's masthead is proudly emblazoned with the accolade, and even Gonzales' water towers have the claim to fame in giant typeface.

Gonzales is home to an annual, multi-day Jambalaya Festival held every spring since 1968. The inaugural "World Jambalaya Cooking Competition" featured just 13 entrants cooking over coal fires in cast iron pots, but nearly 60 years later, attendees regularly number in the tens of thousands to enjoy local food vendors (including jambalayas made by former champs), arts and crafts booths, a car show, 5k run, carnival rides, live music, and the "Miss Gonzales Jambalaya" pageant.

For these jambalaya purists, the main event is the cooking contest, and the title is a prestigious win. In 2017, 30-year-contestant Shelby "Doty" Gautreau competed with his son Adam — and, as Gautreau told local news outlet 225 Baton Rouge, "It's in your blood. The first world champion was my step-dad ('Papa' George Fairchild). That's where we started, cooking for him. Then he passed away. [Adam] and I started cooking together, and it's just something you've got to do — family tradition."

Gonzales' unique local food culture is rooted in community gathering and laid-back good times. The city's longstanding history with the dish began at church fairs in the early 1900s. Jambalaya was swiftly appointed as an ideal candidate to feed the masses (literal), easy for large-batching and cooking outdoors in large pots over wood fires. Then, in the 1960s, a proper festival dedicated to the dish was conceived by Steve Juneau as a way to promote tourism to Gonzales. After all, by then, Gonzales had its world-class jambalaya game honed. Nowadays, Baton Rouge news outlet WBRZ 2 names the festival as "one of the premiere festivals in Louisiana," rivaling the iconic, perhaps better-known New Orleans Jazz Festival, which is also held in spring.

Beyond jambalaya, Gonzales is also home to a flourishing seafood scene. Foodies prize restaurants like Don's Seafood (which is serving up po' boys, oysters, fried alligator bites, and hushpuppies) and Philay's Catfish n' More (a hotspot for Creole classics like seafood gumbo, etouffe, shrimp remoulade, and red beans and rice).

This year's Jambalaya Festival will be held May 21-24, 2026 at Gonzales' Lamar Dixon Expo Center. According to local tourism platform Explore Louisiana, the best way to get to Gonzales is by car or taxi (less than an hour from New Orleans), or via rideshare from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.