For 14 years, Marie Ducote was a schoolteacher in Lafayette, Louisiana. For another 9, she was a school administrator. She loved the work, but after 23 years, she burned out. She needed to find a new passion. She went on education conferences in different cities around the country, and while she was there, she took time to go on a few food tours.
She loved each one – but knew her hometown’s authentic Cajun cuisine and colorful restaurateurs would beat them all, hands down. “How does Lafayette NOT have a food tour like this?” she wondered, never guessing that buying a bus and running her own food tour company was in her own destiny.
After months of soul-searching, Marie happily accepted her new calling, did her homework, and started Cajun Food Tours in Lafayette as a one-woman operation.
Like many new business owners, she answered all phone calls and took all booking information by hand.