We were lucky to catch up with Julie Vaucresson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My husband and I are the co-owners of a family-owned business, Vaucresson Sausage Company. Vaucresson Sausage has been in business since 1899 and is an integral part of the Creole and cultural community of New Orleans. We are the only original vendor of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, After the 2019 festival season I noticed that we spent a large portion of our budget on condiments, particularly mustard. What goes with sausage? Mustard!

So I met with a food scientist and hired a recipe developer. I studied more about mustard seeds and their sourcing than I did in graduate school. By the 2022 festival season we served our own condiments and sauces. I had a readymade focus group of thousands of customers daily giving feedback and the response was overwhelmingly positive. The rest is history.

Julie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Julie Vaucresson is the owner and operator of Creole Made Easy, LLC (CME), a complimentary entity of the Vaucresson’s Sausage Company. Vaucresson Sausage Co is a 125 year old family business located in the heart of New Orleans’ Creole Seventh Ward commercial corridor.

Julie V is the Creole Sausage Queen, co-owner of the Vaucresson’s Sausage Company, Vaucresson’s Creole Cafe and Deli, TV and social media personality, cookbook author and a sauce savant. Julie’s cookbook, Creole Made Easy with the Creole Sausage Queen releases September 2024 and will be sold in all major retailers including Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Target.

She holds an undergraduate degree from Xavier University and a graduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. Julie participates in many leadership roles with non-profits, clubs and associations. Her admiration for social media is contagious and you can often find her in videos alongside her kids and husband.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner is my husband of 23 years. I can’t say how we met because we’ve known each other since grammar school. Friends have often joked that we had a prearranged marriage.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

I had a huge order that was supposed to be delivered for a very important client. This client was expecting this order for a huge conference. My co-pack calls me one week before he was supposed to ship the order to me and says that he can’t do it. I almost died. This was my first big break and I wouldn’t be able to deliver. Luckily the co-pack was able to produce the product, This taught me a valuable lesson about never being so heavily dependent on someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iamjuliev.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creole_sausage_queen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsmejuliev