Feeling froggy: Frog leg eating contest and Prince Charming

“Ribbit, ribbit.” — Wise sounds uttered by a Rayne frog

I knew we were about to experience a version of Gatorfest except substitute a frog for the alligator.

I am from Anahuac, Texas. And in Anahuac, we have an annual festival called Gatorfest. That’s because, fun fact, Anahuac is the Alligator Capital of Texas. Apparently, the reptiles outnumber the locals.

When I heard about a frog festival just an hour east of Lake Charles in the Frog Capital of the World, I had to go.

I dragged my parents with me, and we drove over two hours to watch a frog leg-eating contest and hold some cold amphibians. Six men, mainly Louisiana natives, participated. They were given 45, 30, and so on second intervals until one champion remained.

Determining who would get to go on to the next round came down to one thing — who had “the cleanest bones.”

The prize up grab was a trophy that stood well over five feet tall and was made of 16-ounce beer bottles. A local Rayne neighbor won and took it home.

After the competition, the festival officials were kind enough to give the rest of the frog legs to the audience.

My parents had never tried a frog leg before. I had, so I knew what to expect, and I didn’t mind them—a small fried treat. My dad didn’t care for them, but my mom said they tasted like chicken. Everyone says they taste like chicken. I disagree, but to each their own.

Once we finished our snack, we moved to the frog petting section. These were giant Louisiana Jumbo Bullfrogs. Beautiful. Made me a little sad I had just finished eating one of its cousin’s legs. Circle of life, I guess. I loved being able to hold the frog. Sadly, despite my best efforts, no Prince Charming here. I guess the frog knew I was already taken.

For me, David Constantine was the star of the show. Yes, the frogs are cool, but for me, it’s always about getting to know the people.

The Rayne native and festival volunteer was very forthcoming with information and put up with my silly questions. He wanted visitors like me to know about his town and their love for the frogs.

Bullfrogs in Rayne are more than just a part of the ecosystem. Frogs helped put Rayne on the map by becoming a vital industry for the town, and it all started in the 1880s thanks to a French entrepreneur and chef named Donat Pucheu; at least, that’s how the legend goes.

Pucheu started selling the plump frogs to New Orleans restaurants. A couple of years later, the Louisiana Frog Company was founded. The company sold the amphibians to restaurants, public aquariums and universities for research. In 1937, the company shipped roughly half a million frogs worldwide. At one point, the Louisiana Frog Company sold canned “Frog a la Sauce Piquante.”

Louisiana; a Guide to the State also reported the company could receive “as many as 10,000 frogs” on warm days, with the heaviest catch recorded by the Louisiana Frog Company weighing three pounds.

The Weil brothers are also credited in this effort with a historical marker in town reading, “Jacques Weil and brothers, Edmond and Gontran, came to Rayne from Paris in 1901 and established a mercantile business that shipped frogs to restaurants and universities across the country. The business became a landmark in the area, expanding the unique frogging industry into gigantic proportions—exporting as much as 10,000 pounds of frog legs in a week.”

But as the expression goes, “what goes up must come down,” and the frog trade experienced just that. By the 1970s, business was down. However, that didn’t stop the town from honoring its beloved green friends.

The Rayne Frog Festival was founded in 1973, and since then, it has grown, featuring fun events like the frog leg eating contest I traveled for. The festival happens every spring around this time of the year. This weekend (as I am publishing this story) just so happens to be the weekend for this year’s Rayne Frog Festival.

Morale of the story: I guess it’s fair to say that frogs love rain, and Rayne loves frogs.