“In New Orleans, culture doesn’t come down from on high, it bubbles up from the streets.”
– Ellis Marsalis
About Cafe Orliana
Cafe Orliana was founded to celebrate the culinary heritage of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta. To truly honor the peoples who gave us this cuisine we must speak the history and celebrate their homes. New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta are what they are because of all the peoples who’ve come before. It’s a dark history but in true New Orleans fashion we have made it vibrant and celebratory. We want to honor the peoples whose backs our culture was built on.
We want it to be known that our recipes come from foodways brought to our land and blended together. Africans, Native Americans, French, Spanish, Acadians, British, Irish, Germans, Sicilians, West Indians, Vietnamese, Haitians, Cubans, Lebanese, Chinese, Mexicans, Arabs, Scots Irish, Italians, Filipinos, Koreans, and all who continue to migrate and call New Orleans and ‘the Delta’ home, are the reason the world celebrates our cuisine.
Our Vision
Cafe Orliana is committed to making everything by hand. This means we small batch all recipes from scratch. We do not use any preservatives, so do not wait too long to enjoy our goods. We deep freeze our frozen options for you to enjoy in months to come so not to compromise on flavor.
We are focused on making as little impact to the planet as possible. The food industry can easily do a number on the landfill. To curve this, the to-go ware is biodegradable, and we do not use disposable ware to bake or cook in. We use as few disposable items as possible (gloves, hair nets, paper towels, hand napkins, etc.).
Our Team
We are a husband-wife duo, a Louisiana woman and a California man.
Jamie Lee was born in New Orleans and grew up throughout St. Bernard and St. Tammany Parish. After Hurricane Katrina, Jamie Lee (19) made her way to Arizona then Texas then California. While living in Texas, she began making a pumpkin cheesecake that became a go to for friends and family. Contemplating what to do as a career Jamie Lee settled on becoming a business owner. And in 2009, she dreamt up Cafe Orliana and the celebration of the dishes from her home. In 2020, the opportunity to start Cafe Orliana arrived. But with no family recipes, she went back to New Orleans for research and development. She returned to California with our signature recipes: Chicken Gumbo, Shrimp Gumbo and Red Beans and rice. She has continued recipe development over the last 6 years. We had a short market season in California and a recent move to Colorado. We are excited to bring our food to you. We hope you enjoy!