A part of the mission of advancing French in Louisiana is providing the language with spaces to thrive beyond education. One of the most obvious places to look is the economy.
In 2023, CODOFIL launched an effort to increase the availability of French-language services by providing Lafayette Parish restaurants with written translations for their menus, a project called “Lafayette en français.” In collaboration with Lafayette Travel and the Lafayette International Center, in its first year CODOFIL provided translations for 16 restaurants to create French menus, which offered Francophone tourists and Louisianans new opportunities to use French.
Many of these restaurants included establishments in downtown Lafayette, an area that sees high numbers of Francophone tourists. The availability of the translated menus proved to be an effective way to reach a new audience.
“Having the menus available for French-speaking customers makes for a more pleasant experience all the way around—for them and for us,” explained Lori Walls, co-owner at Johnson’s Boucanière in downtown Lafayette. “I think it helps them to know that we care about them, and that we want to make it easy for them.”
French Menus Create More Visibility for the Language in Louisiana
In 2024, CODOFIL worked again with its partners on the “Lafayette en français” project, this time expanding French menus to more restaurants around the parish to towns like Scott and Carencro. Translation services were also extended to other services often used by tourists, including bed and breakfasts and tour operators. At some establishments, such as Cajun Food Tours, the owner speaks French, which increases their ability to market to French-speaking visitors who come to Louisiana.
With the launch of CODOFIL’s new economic development program, Exel Louisiane, the French menus project now extends to all of Louisiana. Restaurants that would like to offer a French menu are encouraged to contact CODOFIL to receive more information about translation services and getting a Demandez notre menu en français plaque.
