Sam Irwin releases ‘Louisiana Crawfish’

“My ties to the crawfish industry are deep, as deep as a crawfish hole,” writes Sam Irwin in his just-released Louisiana Crawfish: A Succulent History of the Cajun Crustacean.

The Baton Rouge-based freelance journalist and Acadiana native covers the rise of the state’s favorite springtime food just in time for crawfish season.

Irwin, the former press secretary for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, grew up around crawfishermen and watched his hometown, Breaux Bridge, claim the mantle of Crawfish Capital of the World.

“The hunt for red crawfish is the raison d-etre of Acadiana spring,” Irwin writes, going on to describe the crawfish boil as a phenomenon that approaches sacred ritual.

The book includes lore, history, recipes and photographs that trace how far the state’s crawfish culture has come. It’s available in local and chain bookstores, on Amazon.com and through Irwin’s website. For more information, click here. —Maggie Heyn Richardson