T-Boy wins fourth straight peoples choice first place in boudin cook-off

When you have something that’s really good and the demand for it is growing all the time, you don’t -- you probably can’t -- improve on it.
That’s what T-Boy Berzas got 20 years ago when he first opened his store with his wife, Laurie and his two sons. T-Boy’s Slaughter House and Meat Market now has between 25 and and 27 employees two locations; at the store just east of Mamou and T-Boy’s Boudin and Cracklins in Eunice.
Verification that he’s making the right stuff comes every year at the Boudan Cook-Off in Lafayette in late October.
T-Boy’s clinched the coveted title of first place in the People’s Choice Category for the fourth time in a row, at the Seventh Annual Boudin Cook-off on October 25. The event is sponsored by BoudinLink.com, a Louisiana website that rates boudin from across the world. T-Boy’s boudin had previously earned the grade of A+ on the website, as well as earning the First Place People’s Choice Award and more in the previous years at the Annual Boudin Cookoff.
This year’s cook-off, held in downtown Lafayette at Parc Sans Souci, featured live Cajun music and tons of family friendly boudin-themed activities. Guests of the cookoff were able to sample boudin from different vendors and vote on the best tasting.
“We’ve been working hard to serve our best boudin for the last 20 years, and we appreciate every compliment we get in return. But to come out here, and win the title of being the best boudin around…Well, that’s the ultimate honor,” T-Boy said at the cook-off. “Saying that we have the best boudin in Acadiana is like saying we have the best boudin in the world!”
When asked what the secret to his success is, T-Boy says, “The key to making perfect boudin is to use the highest quality and freshest ingredients, as well as my own special blend of seasonings. You know, there are some other boudins out there that aren’t as spicy or don’t have as much liver content, but we want to continue to make that classic Cajun boudin and keep the tradition alive.” T-Boy and his family also give credit to their win to all of the fans that came out to support them.
“It’s great to be able to call ourselves the ‘Boudin Champs’ year after year,” he says. “Thanks to everyone who made it to the ooudin ook-off and voted for us. All we want is to continue to serve you all the best!”
He won the Peoples Choice Catogory -- where his boudin placed first for the past four years -- because the thousands of visitors to the Boudin Cook-off actually vote for their favorite boudin, using tickets they receive when they enter the cook-off.
Entries were submitted this year from four slaughterhouses and meat markets in Lafayette, and one each from Baton Rouge, Carencro, Cottonport, Broussard, Eunice and Mamou.
Standing in the middle of his typically busy Mamou store recently, pausing frequently to say hello to many of the customers passing through, T-Boy talked about how his business has grown through the years. Besides the many and varied meats and other products, including T-Boy’s Cajun Seasonings, he now sells nationwide, through T-Boy’s Boudin Online.
He says people, perhaps from other states, seem reluctant to try his boudin at first. But once introduced, they keep coming back for more, or order more online.
For the first time during this year’s boudin cook-off, he attracted so many visitors to his booth, he had to open a second booth because so many people wanted to try his boudin.
Knowledge of his boudin spread far and wide when the an episode of the Cooking Channel’s “Man Fire Food” visited T-Boy’s in Mamou to video scenes of the smokehouse. The program’s host, Roger Mooking, was intrigued how T-Boy used different areas of his smoke house to take advantage of different heat and other factors.
But T-Boy says he never concludes an interview without giving thanks for his success where it is due. “We give thanks to God,” he said. “All our blessings come from Him.”