After 35 years of plying their trade and serving delicious crawfish bread at the New Orleans Jazz Fest Panorama Foods says they’re taking leave of the festival food court.
John Ed Laborde, founder of Panorama Foods, and a caterer from Marksville says it was difficult decision to make.
“One thing I learned from my daddy, there comes a time in your life when you’re less effective and maybe it’s time to move on,” Laborde told the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. “It’s just been a good run.”
Laborde, taking into account he’s 65, said it was time re-evaluate the gargantuan effort he engages in to bring his food booths to the Festival and run them for two full weeks.
The months of preparation have taken their toll on him.
“I make every batch of dough, and I cook every loaf of bread,” he said. That means he’s in for 16-hour days.
Another factor in Laborde’s decision to step back is the cost of mounting such an effort to put on such an undertaking at the Fest.
This was underscored by the rise in prices from raw food making materials to hotel rooms for his employees.
Laborde said the final straw was the contract from the Festival.
“Jazz Fest has been part of my life since 1987. I love it, I’d never say anything bad about Jazz Fest; they’ve been good to me, I’ve been good to them.”
