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MARCELLE BIENVENU is a cookbook author and food writer who has been preparing Cajun and Creole dishes since the 1960s. She is currently a chef/instructor at the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

A native of St. Martinville, La., in the heart of the Cajun country, she has written a weekly food column, “Creole Cooking,” for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans since 1984. She’s worked as a researcher and consultant for Time-Life Books, contributing to a series of books titled Foods of the World. She’s been featured in Food & Wine, Southern Living, Redbook, The New York Times, Louisiana Life, Louisiana Cookin’ and Acadiana Profile.

She is the author of four cookbooks: Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic and Can You Make a Roux? (Book 1), Who’s Your Mama…? (Book 2), Cajun Cooking for Beginners, and No Baloney On My Boat!

She co-authored four cookbooks with renowned chef Emeril Lagasse. She also co-authored Eula Mae’s Cajun Kitchen with Eula Mae Doré, a longtime cook for the McIlhenny family on Avery Island, and Stir the Pot: The History of Cajun Cuisine, with Carl A. Brasseaux and Ryan A. Brasseaux.

With Judy Walker, food editor for The Times-Picayune, Ms. Bienvenu co-authored Cooking Up A Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, which was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2009. She also co-authored Wings of Paradise: Birds of the Louisiana Wetlands with Charlie Hohorst, as well as Pecans: From Soups to Nuts.

She owned and operated a restaurant, Chez Marcelle, near Lafayette, La., in the early 1980s, and has worked for several restaurants, including Commander’s Palace and K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans.

A graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, she lives on Bayou Teche in St. Martinville, La., with her husband, Rock Lasserre.