David and Sharon Prudhomme have carved a Cajun-sized niche in Lancaster County with their Columbia restaurant, Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen. Together, they cook up fresh, authentic Cajun cuisine that dispels the myth that Cajun food is too hot and spicy. The restaurant, located at 50 Lancaster Avenue in the former Rising Sun Hotel, has a menu offering all-American fare and the truly Cajun.

This is the place for real Cajun cooking-it's in their veins. David's aunt and uncle are Chef Enola of Carencro, La. and Chef Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans. David and Sharon Prudhomme invite you to their Columbia locale to entertain your taste buds with the true bayou dishes like catfish, crawfish, alligator, po' boys, gumbo, jambalaya and, of course, hush puppies. I recently interviewed Sharon Prudhomme to learn a little more about how Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen came to be.

Names: David and Sharon Prudhomme

Ages: 50 and 54

Where do you work?
Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen (restaurant) and Prudhomme's On Fourth (catering facility)

How many years have you been a chef?
We've been cooking for the public since 1992, though we used to have parties for 50-plus people all the time. We even catered our own wedding. David was cooking as soon as he could stand at the stove. David's uncle is Chef Paul Prudhomme who invented the method of blackening in the French Quarter back in the 1970's. He owns and operates K-Pauls' Louisiana Kitchen. Pauls' older sister, Davids' aunt, is the famous Chef Enola Prudhomme who recently retired from her restaurant, Prudhomme's Cajun Café. My mom and dad were really into entertaining. Growing up, my mom would have us help with the cooking and baking. It was really great family time. I used to make 13 different jellies and jams and sell them at a local farm stand.

Where did you attend school?
We both learned from the school of hard knocks. David was raised on a dairy farm. He did short stints working at his uncle Pauls' sausage plant and restaurant. We never intended to have our own restaurant. After Davids' surgery following a work accident, heavy construction was no longer in the picture. We started with a concession trailer attending county fairs. Next we moved the business to a market stand at Meadowbrook Farmers Market with a little kitchen two days a week importing Cajun products.

We began introducing crawfish etouffee, blackened catfish and wings. David and I started blending our own poultry seasoning. We do a salt-free mix, "Fowl Play & More", that seems to fit perfectly for all sorts of applications. We do our wings with our mix, marinating them for at least 24 hours and cook them fresh. Often on wing night, 90 or so dozen will "fly" out of the kitchen!

What's your favorite food?
Soft shell crabs, that's the ultimate.

What's your favorite dish to make?
David's Classic Chicken Pasta. Everything's fresh with our own salt-free poultry seasoning. Our seasoning blend is the kicker. We make our own and nobody else has it.

What's your favorite herb or spice?
Cumin. A lot of people don't use it. It's a cool kind of pungent. Adding this to different foods really makes the dish.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would you invite and why?
Jimmy Buffet, just to sit back and cook with him. Sitting down without all of the hullabaloo and relax, barefoot with a couple of frozen concoctions and the "shrimp beginning to boil!"

Name 5 things you couldn't do without in your pantry.
Baked beans (David loves them), fresh herbs & spices, rice, sugar and coffee, tons of coffee. We're coffee addicts. Applesauce, we do a lot of cooking with applesauce.

What's in your refrigerator right now?
Garlic, onions and bell peppers. (One bell pepper contains 300% of your daily Vitamin C!) Flour tortillas, cheese, milk, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables including asparagus, lots of chicken and fish. Andouille sausage (pronounced ahn-doo-eee, Cajun smoked sausage) is usually around too. We have our own virtually fat-free version.

Who is the best cook you know?
David's uncle and aunt, Chef Paul Prudhomme and Chef Enola Prudhomme, because we learned so much from them.

What's always on your grocery list every week?
Milk and fresh veggies. It depends on what we run out of really.

What's your favorite foodie magazine?
Restaurant Hospitality. It highlights restaurant trends and offers ideas from across the country. Independently owned restaurants are the only establishments we visit! We prefer unique offerings, not simply cookie cutter same old same old.