"Calas is a remarkable piece of food history that doesn't get the attention it deserves! Calas is an older dish than the beignet and by contrast it's made from cooked rice...At Calas Cafe we try to walk people through our history by the way we're set up and to provide access to a histroy that unites and delights all New Orleanians."

“The neighbors already know about the calas cart on Treme Street by Armstrong Park, because its bright little upbeat presence can’t be missed. But the creator of this cart, Brandon Pellerin, wants to make sure the visitors strolling through the Treme neighborhood don’t miss it either, because he’s convinced calas are just what they should experience. He eagerly waves down groups as they stroll the intersecting Treme streets.”

Image Credit: Ian McNulty

Sometimes described as beignets with rice, historians connect their roots to Africa. In New Orleans, calas were long linked to women of color who sold them on the city streets beginning in the era of slavery.

“It was an economic vehicle, allowing them to provide for their families, and sometimes to even help buy their way out of slavery,” Pellerin told one group visiting his cart.

Image Credit: Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

[Brandon] Pellerin, who also operates food security nonprofit Harvest NOLA, says the Calas Cafe offering a permanent place for locals and visitors to experience the dish creates an important connection to that history.

"We get people pulling up with tears in their eyes because their grandparents and mothers used to make this dish and they simply have not had a place that highlights the significance of it," he says.

Image Credit: Chelsea Brasted/Axios

“"The fight for economic freedom is still very real. Here I live in the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States of America. That has contributed so much to the culture of New Orleans that has given the gift of jazz, that has given the gift of so many great things culturally, and I'm just so honored to be here and continue. Just to be on the front lines of utilizing this historic staple. To continue to drive that message of economic prosperity home for Black New Orleanians. “

Image Credit: Everyday Matters

The calas is a historical New Orleans dish rooted in the rice-growing regions of West Africa. The dessert itself is a sugar fiend’s daydream of fried rice, dusted with confectioner's sugar. Though the calas were lost to time, the descendants of this recipe hope to revive its legacy by selling it in the neighborhood it originated from, Treme. In this segment, owner of Calas Cafe Brandon Pellerin explains the significance of the dessert.

Image Credit: LPB PBS