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After the fury of Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is devastated, Baton Rouge gets a new identity

For the large number of graduates of Louisiana State University living in Mauritius, Baton Rouge will be remembered as a place for LSU Tiger football games, spicy Creole crawfish, and long nights of fun and partying.

But hurricane Katrina is quickly changing the face of this sleepy college town.

For years, Baton Rouge has lived in the shadow of New Orleans as Louisiana's second city. New Orleans had jazz, Mardi Gras and great restaurants, while Baton Rouge, located some 75 northwest, had bureaucrats from the state government and the rowdy students of LSU.

But in the space of just over a week, Baton Rouge has become the largest city in Louisiana, transformed into a boomtown.

Thousands of people who fled the hurricane's floodwaters in New Orleans have poured into town, nearly doubling the city's population to more than 800,000, causing horrific traffic jams along Interstate 12, and transforming much of the city into an extensive refugee camp.

The city has become the center for all coordinated efforts from state, local and national emergency agencies working to help the storm's victims and rebuild the devastated Louisiana coast. In addition to these relief workers have come hundreds of volunteers.

Real estate prices have also soared, as displaced New Orleans residents scramble to buy houses or rent apartments. Real estate agents who normally sell a half dozen houses a month, are selling 30 over a period of just a few days. House prices have risen 20 percent, as buyers, desperate for a place to live, are snapping up anything they can find.

Office space has also grown tight - and expensive - as businesses seek to relocate their offices to Baton Rouge from New Orleans. Law firms are among the biggest new customers. Many businesses are snapping up any available housing for their employees as well.

Public schools in Baton Rouge are also overflowing with an influx of new students, and the River Center, the city's downtown convention center, is now home to 5,000 displaced people, many without adequate medical care or food and water.

Parts of the campus of LSU has been transformed into an epicenter for the relief operation. The basketball arena at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is being used as a medical triage center. The LSU Tigers moved Saturday's opening football game against Arizona State to the desert in Tempe, Ariz., because the university couldn't handle the influx of fans wanting to attend the game. The Bernie Moore Track Stadium is a transport staging area for medical evacuation vehicles, while the Maddox Fieldhouse is a special needs shelter. The first day of classes for the new school year was postponed until last Wednesday.

"Baton Rouge is now the largest city in Louisiana, and it's going to be for quite a while, if not permanently," said Walter Monsour top administrator to the president of the city-parish government. "Is this going to mean a different way of life her? Absolutely."

But there have been many problems, and local residents fear for the future. There is a lot of goodwill in Baton Rouge toward the newcomers, but also a lot of tension, especially as the locals realize that these new guests will likely become permanent residents.

Many people have rushed to buy safes to store their valuables, and tear gas and guns for protection. Crime is reportedly up, as are reports of car stealing and theft.

It's hard to find a parking space at the local Wal-Mart or grocery store, and if you can get inside, there's often little left on the shelves. "I can't find sugar, flour, frozen fruit. None of these items are on the shelf," Karin Cochran, a Baton Rouge resident told WNBC news. There are long lines at the gas stations.

Baton Rouge's local government worries how it will handle these new demands. Mayor Melvin L. "Kip" Holden met with President Bush last week and asked for federal money to build new roads and schools, and to improve police protection and transportation.

Many also worry that the city might explode into a sort of class warfare between blacks from New Orleans, who compose the majority of the newcomers, and blacks from Baton Rouge, who comprise about 50 percent of the local population.

Some fear that the newcomers will be taking jobs and resources away from the old-timers.

Renowned Mauritian chef loses restaurant, home

As a child in Mauritius, Dominique Macquet has seen his share of menacing cyclones, but he's probably never seen anything like the fury of a storm that leveled New Orleans last week.

Hurricane Katrina put Macquet's well-known restaurant, Dominique's, underwater, and also flooded his home in New Orleans.

Macquet is now reportedly in Florida's Panhandle, seeking new opportunities for his 30-mmber kitchen and serving staff, according to press reports.

His restaurant was located in the famed New Orleans French Quarter, part of the elegant Maison Dupuy Hotel. It probably won't open until next year.

"I've got very talented people," Maquet told a Florida newspaper. "It's not about me. It's about them finding something to look forward to in the future. I'll be OK. I can travel and do cooking shows."

Macquet came to New Orleans in 1997, and built his reputation around a cooking style that blended Louisiana ingredients with fine spices like coriander and anise from Mauritius. His mother reportedly goes spice shopping for Macquet, sending him a care package of ingredients every few months. Although trained in classic French cuisine, the 39-year-old chef has cooked many foods in many different locales - South Africa, Japan, England, Thailand, Beverly, Hills and even the White House, but he always remains true to his tropical roots.

"Growing up, Macquet ate wonderful Indian curries and Asian stir-fries as regularly as a child night eat hamburgers in America," said one restaurant critic. "His mother taught him the secrets of the island's trove of herbs and spices, including turmeric, lemongrass, nutmeg, saffron, ginger, garlic and garma masala blends, all of which find their way into his recipes."

Macquet has received numerous cooking awards and is considered one of the top chefs in New Orleans. He has also written a cookbook, Dominique's Fresh Flavors.

Efforts to reach Macquet by phone for an interview were unsuccessful, as most of the telephone lines - both land and cellular - remain out of service in the New Orleans area.

a m e r i c a n   s c e n e

WEEK-END --- dimanche 11 septembre 2005