Houma girl returns to cook up success at Clare’s Café

On any given day at Clare’s Café in Houma, your taste buds might be taken on a trip to Jamaica or Asia. Whatever the cuisine theme, know that Clare Reding has put a lot of creativity into the meal.

Last Thursday, Clare whipped together an Asian Chicken Salad, which consisted of fresh vegetables with sesame ginger vinaigrette, almonds and was topped with grilled chicken.

What the menu offers next week is anybody’s guess. Clare’s has specials available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“I go to the refrigerator or the supermarket and pick out ingredients that I want to use,” she said. “Whatever inspires me on that day is typically what I will make.”

Her creativity kicks in when it’s time to prepare the dish. “I like trying new flavors because I can be creative in the presentation and the taste,” she said.

The most creative dish she has prepared recently is a sautéed shrimp mix poured over cheesy, buttery grits, which is a Low Country dish from South Carolina.

What makes Clare’s stand out over other diners in the area? Reding says it is the assorted cuisine she drums up on a daily basis.

Clare’s took over the space once occupied by the Liberty Café, a simple soup and sandwich shop.

From the converted café, Reding serves an array of dishes and cuisines from Latin American to Jamaican, European to Cajun Creole.

Her mix of international and southern cuisines can be attributed to her education at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

“They were big on international foods,” Reding said. “We still made American foods, but we would always add a little international flavors to the dish.”

In the future, Reding said she wants to teach others what she’s learned. Clare’s also does catering for private parties.

A native of Houma, Reding moved away at the age of 17 to pursue other dreams. Her journey led her to North Carolina, where she became involved in theatre and the catering business.

“I took some college courses in theatre appreciation,” she said. “As part of my class, I started volunteering at one of the local theatres in North Carolina.”

Before long, Reding was hired as a stage manager. From there, she added to her responsibilities by becoming the theatre’s caterer.

“They used to have a lot of parties and the food wasn’t that good, so I started catering the events,” Reding said.

Approaching age 30, she became serious about pursing a career in culinary arts. She earned an associate’s degree from California Culinary Academy, followed by an internship at Sea Island Resort in Georgia.

“My internship brought me back to the East Coast,” she said. “Sea Island was such a huge place where student cooks could learn a variety of things. We didn’t just have our hands in one thing.”

She met her now beau, Nathan Stokes, and they began looking on the Internet for rental homes in the Houma area. They came across some commercial property on Liberty Street, and together they discovered the Liberty Café, which was for sale.

With her family’s help, she and Stokes opened Clare’s Café.