How Cajun Deep-Fried Turkeys Became a Holiday Favorite

Company Trip to Lafayette Helps Families Hit by Flood

Copeland’s of New Orleans – Atlanta has a long history of community involvement and giving back to the Atlanta-area communities where our guests and our employees live.

We recently had the opportunity to give back to our Louisiana family as well.

After the August storms in southern Louisiana resulted in catastrophic flooding, destroying thousands of houses and businesses, a team from the Atlanta-area Copeland’s stores loaded up an RV and a utility trailer and trekked the 1,315 miles round trip to help families in need. 

Thirteen people were killed in the floods, which also caused at least $9 billion in damages. Nearly two months later, state and federal officials are struggling to administer temporary shelters and deliver food and other relief, but they can’t do it alone.

That’s why nonprofits, community groups, and volunteers like the team from Copeland’s are helping out.

The relief team was put together by Bill Goudey, President & CEO of the Atlanta-area Copeland’s stores in Cumberland and Kennesaw. The relief expedition was made up of “front of the house” and “back of the house” employees who wanted to help.

“We got donations from our local community (in the Marietta area),” Goudey says. “We filled that 12-foot trailer pretty much to the top with building materials and relief supplies.”

The group left Georgia early on Aug. 23, bound for Louisiana. Goudey says once they arrived, everyone witnessed a level of devastation that wasn’t being reported in the national news media.

“We got to Lafayette a week after the flood waters started receding, but it was clear when you were driving down I-10 and I-12 coming across from the east. You could see all the creeks and rivers that had grown,” Goudey said. “Creeks that were normally 15 feet wide had widened to 100 feet or more.

“There were just swaths of destruction… Uprooted trees with exposed roots on the sides of the roads and all the streams had become raging rivers.”

The team from Copeland’s focused on helping a former employee who had moved from Georgia to Lafayette a few years ago.

“He had nine inches of water in his home. He lost most of his furniture and any belongings that were on the floors.”

Incredibly, some of the Copeland’s employees who made up the relief expedition did not even know the former employee or his family (since he hadn’t worked for Copeland’s in several years). They just wanted to be a part of the effort to help out strangers in need halfway across the country.           

“Our former employee and his neighbors went through the relief supplies to get what they could use, and everything else went to the Red Cross,” Goudey said. “I’d say he, his family, and their neighbors were really overwhelmed and grateful at the fact that we were able to come and be of some help, although they have a long way to go before they are back to normal.”

Homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover flood damage, and since the storm (the worst natural disaster in the U.S. since Hurricane Sandy six years ago) was a 75-year flood, most people didn’t have optional flood insurance.

“There’s a lot of people down there in that position,” Goudey said. “The limitations on FEMA relief mean they won’t get anywhere near the cost and the damages that these families will incur.”

The Copeland’s Crewe got back home to Georgia Aug. 26, having traveled over 1,300 miles (round-trip) to help a member of the Copeland’s family, as well as people they’d never met, in the hard-hit communities of southwestern Louisiana.

And the need continues. The Red Cross estimates recovery efforts will total at least $30 million. If you are able to help, we here at Copeland’s want to remind you of the following organizations where your donation can help right now:

• American Red Cross: Providing medical assistance and supplies, as well as meals and shelters for displaced residents. Donate by visiting the organization’s website or by texting the word LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
• The United Way of Southeast Louisiana: Donations for flood relief can be made through the organization’s website.
• Convoy of Hope: Providing food, water, equipment and relief supplies. Donate through the website and specify that you want your donation to go to Louisiana flood relief efforts.
• Baton Rouge Area Foundation: Accepting donations through its website and directing them to community non-profits who need it.

The Atlanta Braves and their fans are looking forward to their new home stadium in SunTrust Park, scheduled to open in April down the road from Copeland’s of New Orleans – Atlanta.

The new Cumberland home of the Braves will be more than a ball park—it includes multi-use development, an office tower, a hotel, and a lively shopping and entertainment developments.

There is also a new pedestrian bridge going across I-285 to the stadium from the Cobb Galleria.  Our guests will be happy to know this is a five-block walk from our parking deck and it will allow them to avoid all the stadium traffic, since our location is one block off I-75 at Cumberland Boulevard.

While the stadium will hold 10,000 fewer seats than Turner Field, fans sitting in the middle and upper tiers will be even closer to the action. On top of that, park attendees will also enjoy much-needed shade provided by the biggest canopy baseball has ever seen (80 feet wide!).

A unique addition to the stadium includes a baseball-focused virtual reality experience for the fans. Among their “Xfinity Rooftop” lounge and game area, fans will get a personal, interactive baseball experience in which they can experience trying to catch a 90-mile-per-hour fastball by Julio Teheran or seeing Freddie Freeman’s point of view as he’s hitting a game-winning home run.

For those who prefer old-school entertainment, there will also be a section for more traditional gaming options such as ping-pong, foosball, and video games.

Despite the distractions, no one has to worry about missing out on the actual game. The “rooftop” will not only feature panoramic views of the field and Battery Atlanta, but will also be decorated with large live-feed video walls. Fans who enjoy sharing their baseball experience via Snapchat or Facetime can do so with the free Wi-Fi. SunTrust Park’s Wi-Fi is set to be 2.5 times faster than the Wi-Fi at the Santa Clara Levi’s Football Stadium, which is considered the fastest Wi-Fi provided in any U.S. sports stadium.

When all is said and done—how is the traffic going to hold up? Thankfully for the fans, SunTrust Park is built between fourteen different access points with parking surrounding the entire stadium. Turner Field, in comparison, only has two access points and 90% of its parking spots are located just in front of the stadium. To combat rush hour traffic, games will start a half hour later, when there will be fewer cars on the road. Cobb Link and the Cumberland Circulator will also be options for commuters looking for alternative transportation to the stadium.

Battery Atlanta visitors and fans are welcome to experience New Orleans hospitality before and after the games. Copeland’s of New Orleans-Atlanta is a five-minute drive from the new stadium via US-41/ Cobb Pkwy. We’re at 3101 Cobb Pkwy S.E., Suite 220—next to the AMC movie theatre. 

Public speaking in a business setting isn’t always easy. Fortunately, there are things you can do to improve. Follow these 6 tips for a corporate presentation that the job done effectively.

1. Who are You?

Introduce yourself. Right from the start it is important to state who you are and why you are the best person to deliver your presentation. List meaningful credentials to give your audience an idea of why they should sit up and take notice of what you have to say. Don’t ramble on—keep it short and sweet.

2. Keep Credible

Now that your audience understands your expertise, make sure you keep them engaged by sharing supporting facts that highlight your topic. Include this information in your slides, in your actual verbal presentation, and make use of stories, statistics, and quotations that back up your claims. Do remember to state the original sources.

3. Shock Your Audience

This is the time to startle your audience into listening. Include unexpected, yet relevant, facts that you can sprinkle in your presentation to get your audience listening–and to keep them engaged. While there might be no getting away from bullet points and paragraphs, the extra information you choose to include makes it memorable.

4. Location, Location, Location

The location of your talk will go a long way in helping you to deliver a knockout corporate presentation. Lackluster buffets, subpar audio and visual equipment, and a drab environment aren’t going to put your audience in a receptive mood. Knowing how to present is half the battle. Choosing the right space to present in could provide the boost you need to succeed.

Both Copelands of New Orleans-Atlanta locations (in Kennesaw and Cumberland) have banquet space available for corporate presentations.  The Main Banquet room is the Mardi Gras banquet room and accommodates up to 70 guests. At Cumberland we have a second banquet room, the French Quarter room, which is themed as a New Orleans Courtyard and accommodates up to 30 guests. The Mardi Gras Banquet room has a Full A/V system in both stores, including wireless handheld and lavalier microphones for you to use.

5. Practice Until Perfect

Preparation is the name of the game. All the startling facts in the world can’t save an unprepared speaker. Rehearse your presentation until you can say it in your sleep. Practice advancing your slides, time your speech to be sure you are meeting any guidelines, and make sure your message is cohesive and clear.

6. Q&A Session

Corporate presenters should save time for a little Q&A at the end of their presentation. Don’t get caught off-guard by your audience. Come up with a list of questions the audience may have, then work on your responses. Be prepared to defend what you’ve said, just in case someone brings up a differing perspective.

With cross-cultural roots from France, Native America, Africa, West Indies, and sprinklings of other European countries, along with 300 years of colonization, immigration, and intermarriages of cultures, it’s no wonder Cajun and Creole foods have become integrated among modern day restaurants like Copeland’s of New Orleans – Atlanta. However, it is the individual histories that separate Creole and Cajun cuisines the most. Their stories define the flavors. Admittedly, those flavor profiles can be subtle—and debatable, according to whose family you ask.

Tomatoes—amongst other things

Jambalaya is one of the many traditional dishes that are heavily debated amongst families with long-held recipes over one simple ingredient: tomatoes. Creole based jambalaya includes a tomato base, while Cajun jambalaya does not. In fact, if you ask most Cajun cooks today, they’d rather fight than even consider putting tomatoes in their jambalaya.

While tomatoes may seem like an arbitrary ingredient, back in the 18^th century, this was one of the “exotic” resources made available to the aristocratic society of Creoles. Early Creoles consisted of descendents of rich French and Spanish settlers, and consequently, descendents of African slaves. Thanks to the triangle trade between Europe, Africa, and the West Indies, the growing city of New Orleans brought and introduced different flavors—such as tomatoes—to the city that weren’t locally available. This was strictly a Creole experience, which is why we can still see these small yet significant differences in dishes such as jambalaya.

Cooking styles

As to why tomatoes are still being debated today when it is readily available in neighborhood grocery stores, it comes down to preserving one’s heritage. Today’s Cajun cooks follow and honor the recipes of their ancestors who put all the ingredients they could find into one pot for everyone to enjoy. Ancestors of Cajun country were French Canadians who originally lived in modern day Nova Scotia, but were displaced to Louisiana as a result of British colonist overtake. Using the resources the swamplands provided, along with their French style of cooking and Native American influences, Cajun cuisine was born.

Today, Cajun food is seen as a “country” style cooking due to its rustic ingredients and presentation. This is largely in part by the early Cajuns turning to wild game, seafood, rice, and spices to fill their cast iron pots as a means to provide sustainable and hearty meals that could be shared amongst many.

Copeland’s twist

Knowing the history of the two cuisines makes it just a little bit easier to spot the differences when looking at traditional dishes made in modern day homes and restaurants. Copeland’s has a variety of dishes that pay homage to the two styles of cooking. Copeland’s Jambalaya Pasta, for example, consists of traditional Cajun ingredients such as andouille and smoked sausages (salt, smoke, and a heavy hand of seasoning were used as preservatives for meats in the countryside).

Copeland’s Pecan-Crusted Ricochet Catfish, on the other hand, is served with a delicious Creole meuniere sauce that uses a long-established luxury item of early Creoles: butter. These are just some items guests can find on the extensive menu in Copeland’s at weekend buffets and catering events. If you know anyone who appreciates Cajun or Creole cuisine as much as Copeland’s, get them a gift card—and watch for yourselves how harsh the fight over tomatoes can get!

Southern cuisine is known for fried foods, including the savory deep-fried turkey and sweet beignets.

Unfortunately, these fried foods are also have a reputation for not being the healthiest choice.

Especially to those unfamiliar with New Orleans cuisine, this may be reason enough to stay away from anything that comes from a deep fryer.

But there’s good news: These days, fried food chefs and home cooks use peanut oil as a substitute, which not only works just as well as lard, but also has a long list of beneficial frying and health properties.

At Copeland’s of New Orleans Atlanta-area restaurants, we cook our deep-fried Turkeys in peanut oil.

What exactly is peanut oil?

Peanut oil is a vegetable oil that is trans-fat free, cholesterol free, and low in saturated fats while high in “good fats” such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Consumption of these fats in studies has shown to improve cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. When it comes to New Orleans famous fried foods, one can eat with a little less guilt knowing that peanut oil has much healthier advantages than lard. As Oscar Wilde once said: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” 

This means Copelands’ guests can eat our Cajun fried turkey without the guilt!

On top of the helpful health factors, peanut oil is a great frying agent due to its neutral taste and ability to reach high temperatures without smoking, allowing the fried foods to pick up less oil without compromising crispiness or flavor. Additionally, peanut oil doesn’t absorb the flavors of the food it fries, making it possible to reuse to the oil time and time again with different foods. So, as long as the oil is stored properly in a cool, dry place within an airtight container, home cooks and even chefs can enjoy reusing peanut oil to their heart’s content.

Not all peanut oils are created equal.

Peanut oil comes in varied forms, with different flavor profiles and health purposes. Refined peanut oil, for example, is what most major U.S. food businesses use because it’s a non-allergenic product. The process of refining, bleaching, and deodorizing the oil removes the protein that causes peanut allergies, making it possible to deep fry anything (except for maybe peanuts) and serve it to those who are severely allergic to peanuts.

Another type of peanut oil is roasted peanut oil. This alternative is aromatic and adds a delicious nutty flavor to foods cooked in it.

Purists may lament the switch from lard to peanut oil over the years, but one thing is certainly never going to change in Southern cooking: the desire for fried goodness.

Our guests from Marietta, Kennesaw, Atlanta and all over our part of Georgia who crave the classic taste New Orleans love Copeland’s. From Cajun deep-fried turkey (available year-round) to golden fried catfish to our famous brunch buffets, come enjoy the range of delicious foods Louisiana cuisine has to offer both in-house or at your own catered event.

New Orleans is a city rich with diverse cultures evident in legendary dishes such as gumbo, etouffee and the Creole “trinity” of vegetables, shrimp stock, and a touch of cream.

Its culinary traditions, particularly Creole and Cajun cooking, are the basis of many restaurants and homes, each with its own unique recipes and stories. While there are multiple variations of the same dishes, their individual histories dating back 300 years are as distinct as their flavors. They reflect the complexity of colonization, staying true to ancestral roots, and the constant exchange of ideas and lifestyles.

A Savory Melting Pot of Tradition

Food is the preservation and representation of one’s culture and ideals. This is especially true in Cajun food, known for its “country” style of cooking due to its rustic origins and preparation of foods by German and French colonists. Cajun cuisine includes heavy seasoning, along with salt and smoke as a way to preserve meats back when refrigeration was not an option. As a result, delicious pork based sausages such as boudin and andouille sausages were made. Modern day dishes like Copeland’s andouille sausage and red beans and rice entrée happily uses these products of the past, all while honoring the long time tradition of celebrating and combining cultures via food.

The beauty of Creole cuisine is its ability to bring together different backgrounds while highlighting their individualism at the same time. For example, while red beans and rice is a Caribbean influenced food, the tradition of serving it with a side of pork comes from the Christian practice of using leftover pork from Sunday dinners. Creole food is the result of people from all cultures living in the same area of New Orleans over time, including Native American, Spanish, African, Caribbean, and Italian, among many others. As such, dishes such as Jambalaya pasta (traditionally a rice dish from Spain) in Copeland’s are not unusual, though unique in its flavor combinations.

Good-will Gesture Turned Staple

One of the newer additions to the New Orleans food scene is the po-boy sandwich, dating back to the Depression era. During a transit strike in New Orleans, restaurant owners Clovis and Benjamin Martin fed the strikers these famous sandwiches for free. In order to accommodate the strikers’ hungry appetites, a custom made loaf of French bread was made to span as long at 40 inches. The sandwich was filled with all things hearty, which included a combination of seafood, meats, and cheeses. Po-boy, made for the “poor boys,” became a famous symbol of solidarity for the working class, and continues to be a popular comfort food of New Orleans restaurants such as Copeland’s.

If there is only one New Orleans tradition to remember, it is that there is no “right way” to make traditional New Orleans dishes. Foods such as gumbo, red beans and rice, and even po-boys can come in a variety of forms depending on where one breaks bread, whether it’s at a dining establishment like Copelands of New Orleans here in the Atlanta area or at someone’s home in the middle of New Orleans.

While the essentials are universally the same, it is the details—resources, history, and family—that make each experience new and unexpectedly delicious. 

There is nothing more rewarding than knowing our guests are happy with the food and the banquet and catering services we provide at Copeland’s. 

Whether they are Atlanta-area locals or visitors from out of town, we aim to make everyone feel welcome with attentive servers, mouth-watering food, and of course, our New Orleans lagniappe hospitality.

Our online reviews reflect our reputation, and here are just some of the reasons why our guests love coming to Copeland’s:

Killer Brunch Buffets

Few things in life are as satisfying as brunch after a long week, or a buffet when you’re ravenous. At Copeland’s, we bring the best of both worlds with our famous brunch buffets that have our guests coming back hungrier than ever, and leaving more content than beforecop. On Yelp, Eve A. detailed her brunch experiences:

Sunday brunch BABY!!! Whatever you can think of will be on the buffet from prime rib to banana foster waffles. There is nothing like a great Cajun buffet with a live band to set the mood for brunch.

Yelper Matt M. summed up his experiences simply:

They have the best brunch in town …. Try them at least once and you won’t be sorry.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Whether they’re in our private banquet room or in during our lunch hours, we love making birthdays big, personal, and memorable. Here are some guests who celebrated their birthdays with us:

I want to personally thank the staff at Copeland’s for their exceptional service and hospitality. We came here for my aunt’s 50th birthday and they went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of…

Garret O

The food at this restaurant truly exceeded my expectations…we were there for brunch to celebrate my godmother’s birthday. There was such variety for brunch and the food was delicious.

Paulette J

Phenomenal Guest Service

No matter how delicious our food, the Copeland’s experience would not be complete without the thoughtfulness of our servers. From calm, romantic dinners to the hustle of weekend buffets, our servers offer warm, professional, attentive service time and time again. Our guests on Yelp have highlighted some of the exceptional servers from their dining experiences:

For someone who has food allergies, they were knowledgeable and careful to make sure my food was just right. Amazing service!

Lauren B

The restaurant was packed, people were outside the doors standing in the cold to get in, the parties were huge coming in, and through it all, the staff remained courteous, apologetic, friendly and professional.

Liz G

Our server Donna was THE BEST!! She was fast and always one step ahead in meeting our needs.

Angela M

Our server, Tyler, was the most humble, caring, and heartwarming individual we have ever met. Just because my husband was wearing his usual attire identifying him as a Purple Heart Vietnam veteran, we were given the most wonderful ‘WELCOME HOME!’ from Tyler…Tyler even gave us a military discount on our meal. Thank you Tyler. You are a blessing in disguise.

Gloria Asport

Thank you to every one of our guests who left us such wonderful reviews! If you want to see what all the fuss is about for yourself, visit us at our Cumberland location or our Kennesaw location today.

Thanksgiving in the South isn’t complete without Cajun deep-fried turkey on the menu.

It’s a staple here at Copeland’s, as it is for many households during the holidays.

But how did our deep-fried bird become so popular in the first place? While the South has a long, loving history of fried chicken, it turns out that deep fried turkey has only been around for a few decades, and took quite some time for it to become popularized nationally.

It all started with the invention of portable propane cookers in the 1970s. These cookers included a portable propane tank attached to a metal burner that could hold aluminum cooking pots of all sizes. Over time, this regular campsite tool opened up inventive ways of preparing southern favorites such as Cajun boiled crawfish, fried fish, and of course, fried chicken.

It was in the 1980s when some serious Louisiana cooks from the small town of Church Point graduated from deep frying chicken to deep frying whole turkeys for the holidays.