Browsing the seasoning aisle in any grocery store in the South can be dizzying. It’s like trying to find a good Cajun cookbook at the bookstore. It’s a personal choice. Chefs and home cooks are always on the prowl for that Goldilocks blend that will transform a dish into a culinary masterpiece. Marcus Ruiz knows firsthand; after many years of searching for the right all-purpose seasoning to fit his taste – and failing – he began experimenting with his own blends. More than a decade later, he’s come up with a line of products that he thinks are “just right.”
From his Lafayette kitchen, Marcus played with different blends for 12 to 15 years. “As I would mix one version, I would label it and let family and friends try it out, and they started asking for more,” recalls Marcus. Finally, last year, after coming up with what he thought was the winning recipe, he was encouraged by his wife, Kimberley, to get it professionally blended, for the quality of seasoning and consistency, and put it on the market. That was the start of Basin Seasoning Co. and the first of the Basin Originals products, the Cajun All-Purpose blend, a symphony of eight ingredients available in 8-oz. and, soon, 16-oz. containers.
Marcus likes to say that he makes the all-purpose word truly all-purpose. He reveals, “My salt-to-flavor ratio is not too much of either. My garlic and onion content is fairly high, which a lot of folks have reported liking.”
Enjoyed by children and seniors alike, the seasoning pairs well with fish, barbecue, pork, chicken, and beef, as well as deviled eggs, potato salad, and breakfast eggs.
As someone who boils 1,000 pounds of crawfish for family and friends each year, Marcus was inspired to further create a seafood boil seasoning that has been well received. During crawfish season last year, some 600 pounds of the seafood boil was sold in 1 and 3-lb. bags.
Growing up in Butte La Rose, Marcus learned to cook at the elbow of his grandmother, who is 91 and still living. “I cooked full meals by the time I was 15,” he reveals.
At this year’s Shrimp Festival cookoff in Delcambre, his shrimp stew placed third, which fueled the desire to participate in future Louisiana cookoffs.
In more recent projects, Marcus will be coming out with a hot Cajun blend as well as a Cajun BBQ seasoning, which he is still tweaking.
“It’s been a slow growth, but I’m thankful for the gain and the support and how well we’ve been received,” says Marcus, who has a full-time job delivering heavy equipment for a construction rental company and is also their chef for special events.
Certified Louisiana and Cajun products, the Basin Originals seasonings are sold in six area stores, and will soon be launched in 38 to 45 Rouses. They have also made their way to Texas, Colorado and Pennsylvania.
We’re fortunate to have Bayou Seasoning Co. join the Delcambre Seafood & Farmers Market this spring. The feeling is mutual for Marcus, who says, “After the first market in April, I told Kimberley we have to return every time we’re able to. It’s our favorite market; it’s got everything. Everybody knows everybody – the people, in general, are great. It’s right next to the water. We have one of the busiest food booths.”
And why wouldn’t they, with Kimberley selling Marcus’ delicious chicken cracklins. “It was her idea originally as a way to sample the seasonings,” says Marcus “and then it became a thing with the customers who wanted to buy the cracklins, so we started selling them. We had almost 90 pounds of chicken at the last market, and we sold all of it.” Marcus chalks up their delicious taste to starting with all-natural, skin-on thighs, which are seasoned, deep-fried, (no flour is used) then dusted again with the seasoning.
Hold on to that vision, and be sure to visit Basin Seasoning Co.’s booth at the Delcambre Market, where Marcus says there will be hot, fresh chicken cracklins and “a boatload of seasoning.”
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