Mercedes Vidrine started writing for newspapers when she was 15 years old, beginning with "Notes From Eunice High School" which were published in the New Era now known as The Eunice News.
At One time she was the correspondent for four daily newspapers: The Daily World, Opelousas; The Daily Signal, Crowley; The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette; and The American Press, Lake Charles. In 1962, her area editor at the Daily World, Mary Alice Fontenot, urged her to start writing a column. she called it "Demi-Tasse", since she wrote from her home on the kitchen table, between the telephone and the coffee pot.
One day her neighbor, Yvonne Guillory, brought her a slice of cake from a recipe that Yvonne's mother had sent her. It was so good, Mercedes decided to use the recipe in her column. After it appeared in print Mercedes received numerous calls and letters asking for more recipes.
Every year her mother, Ella Fruge LeDoux, would have a "Cajun Sweet Dough Pie Day" in her home. Mercedes, her three sisters and two sisters-in-law would each bring five pounds of flour and other ingredients for baking the pies.
After she used the recipe for "Cajun Sweet Dough Pies" in her column, she was swamped with requests for other cajun recipes like Rice Dressing, Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffee, etc., so she called upon elderly housewives that she knew were good Cajun cooks and got their formulas. When someone called for a recipe, she would tell them "now you owe me one". She especially asked for a family favorite from a mother, grandmother, aunt, etc., so her cajun recipe collection grew. She finally had enough to publish a cookbook.
In 1964 her first cookbook was published with Mary Alice Fontenot doing the editing and J. A. Allen doing the drawings. It was called Quelque Chose de Doux Avec Une Demi-Tasse" (Something Sweet With A Half-Cup Of Coffee). In 1966, "Quelque Chose Piquante" (Something Spicy) was published. This book was ordered by the Smithsonian Institute. In 1967 "Quelque-Chose pour un Joyeux Noel" (Something For A Joyful Christmas) was published. Followed by "Quelque Chose Beaucoup Ben" (Something Very Good). That same year all four Quelque-Chose books were published under one cover titled "Louisiana Lagniappe". Her most recent title "Louisiana Cajun Seafood with Lagniappe Breads" was published in 1989.
Mercedes column appears every Wednesday in the Daily World, She is also a licensed book seller. for more information you can contact Mercedes at:
