“Cajun” and “Creole” are often used as if they mean the same thing. They do overlap, but they come from different histories and traditions, and New Orleans is a particularly good place to start understanding the distinction.
Creole cooking
Creole cuisine is strongly associated with New Orleans and developed from a mixture of cultural influences, including African, European, Caribbean and Native American traditions. City kitchens had access to a wide range of ingredients and culinary ideas.
Cajun cooking
Cajun cuisine is rooted more strongly in rural Louisiana and the traditions of Acadian descendants. It is often associated with hearty one-pot cooking and ingredients available in southern Louisiana.
The lines are not always neat
Modern restaurants borrow, adapt and combine. Gumbo, for example, has many variations and cannot be reduced to one universal recipe.
Rather than turning dinner into a classification exercise, use the distinction as a way to ask questions and explore.
Taste your way through Louisiana
Try gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, seafood, po’boys and other local dishes. Ask what a restaurant considers its specialty.
The important thing is not memorizing definitions before your trip. It is recognizing that Louisiana food reflects several histories meeting in the same pot — and then ordering something else for the table.