Cajun cooking is alive and

well in Fayette.

With Mardi Gras on the calendar

this month, many people set their sights on New Orleans and also find

themselves immersed in the unique culinary stylings of southern Louisiana

even though New Orleans' Mardi Gras and Cajun food are not directly related.

Now, folks who want a spicy

sampling of Cajun cooking can get some without leaving the county, thanks

to one of the area's fine dining establishments that has recently been

placed under new management.

Kyle Schexnayder, manager of

Olde Mill Steakhouse since October, was raised about 25 miles from New

Orleans, although his father grew up deep in Cajun country and his grandmother's

first language was French, he said.

After moving from southern

Louisiana last June, he managed the Malone's restaurant near the airport

before coming to Olde Mill a few months later (Malone's and Olde Mill

are under the same ownership).

Schexnayder said that the owner,

also a big Cajun food fan who spent some time with famed chef Paul Prudhomme

in New Orleans a fe years ago, wanted him to put his own stamp on Olde

Mill and produce some dishes that he is uniquely familiar with.

The name "Cajun"

comes from the Acadians, a French-speaking people who were ousted from

Canada in the 1700s and settled in southern Louisiana. Their culture remained

fairly isolated until about the 1940s, Schexnayder said.

The peasant-type food produced

of what they could take from the land," he said.

Since they were located near

the coast, it was natural that a great deal of seafood would be included.

The people also grew a lot of rice while raising chickens and hogs.

Most Acadians have been Roman

Catholics, according to Schexnayder, and they have produced a number of

meatless dishes.

The biggest step Schexnayder

has taken so far is the inception of Cajun specials every Wednesday night

for supper, featuring Cajun appetizer and seafood entrees.

The seafood part was not really

a stretch, he said, since Olde Mill already had some good seafood dished

before he got there.

But since Olde Mill is still,

after all, a steak house, he's experimenting with a Cajun-injected prime

rib, injecting additional flavoring in a manner similar to a fried turkey.

The new program began Jan.

31, and Schexnayder said about 60 percent of his customers that night

ordered specials.

Olde Mill doesn't really have

anything special planned in conjunction with Mardi Gras, but Schexnayder

thinks this time of year could get people thinking about Cajun food anyway.