The Father-Daughter Team Behind This Cajun Food Truck Follows the Ten Commandments of Gumbo

"Well, it comes from history, I believe. Just living in the South and everything being so food-centric, we went out to eat a lot," says Jennifer Greenlee, owner of the Deja Roux Cajun & Soul food truck, which launched in late 2019. From catfish houses to buffets and gas station fried chicken, she recalls a youth filled with food. "I've always loved to cook, and my dad's always loved to cook," she adds. "Even though we didn't do it a whole lot, when we did it was really special."

Originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Greenlee relocated to Denver in 2014. "I moved here right before my daughter started kindergarten, and we moved here for the better schools and opportunities for everybody," she recalls. Roughly five years later, her dad (aka Papa Will) made the move to Colorado, too.

That's when the idea of launching a food truck was sparked. "I've always dreamed of having a dish that somebody talks about, or that makes an impact, and people are like, that's the best whatever," she explains. "[Papa Will] always talked about wanting to have a food trailer and travel around when he retired."

As the idea of entering the food industry continued to creep into conversations, Greenlee thought back on her childhood and how much food influenced her life. "I didn't realize how much culture I actually obtained from having that experience of growing up and eating that food that is only within two hours of Louisiana," she remembers. "It's a certain place, and you're not gonna get any other food like that, ever."
That's the issue a lot of Southerners face when they venture to a new part of the country; they miss the food and taste of their childhood. After being slightly underwhelmed by the options in Denver, Greenlee turned to her home kitchen and began working on recipes. After purchasing an old FedEx truck and outfitting it with a kitchen, she and her father had one last task to tackle before hitting the streets: developing a name for the truck.

"We're huge Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fans, and if you ever get into his deep tracks, there's a song called 'Southern Accents,' and that was the original name," Greenlee says. "When we started the design, I wanted it to be a Mardi Gras theme. But once we started branding, we decided to go [with a] voodoo theme...so I started rethinking the name and came up with Deja Roux" — an homage to the thickening agent made with flour and water that's an essential part of Cajun cooking.

"I have the best roux that you'll ever have," she asserts. "I make a killer gumbo, and my red beans and rice have been perfected to the point that I would put them against anybody's. Same goes for my fried catfish. My remoulade sauce is inspired by one of my favorite restaurants, Triangle Seafood in Hattiesburg. I wanted to emulate what they had, and worked on it until I got it the way I wanted."

Greenlee even has a "Ten Commandments of Gumbo" posted on the truck's website, which includes wisdom like "Thou shalt never use tomatoes" and "Thou shalt only use a wooden spoon."
Although Greenlee had perfected her recipes before launching the truck, she quickly realized that executing dishes on the truck proved more difficult than anticipated. "Unfortunately, we had to go through some growing pains, because when we first opened, we literally tried to have a restaurant on wheels," she admits. "It was a huge learning curve, especially for someone who's never been in food service, like my Papa."

Though she'd worked in the hospitality industry her whole life and brought a lot of valuable experience, "a food truck is front of the house, back of the house, customer service, everything," she adds. But once the father-daughter team pared down their menu and realized their capacity, Deja Roux hit its groove and found a community full of support.

As the truck enters its third year of operations, Greenlee is excited about the future and its opportunities for growth. Her cousin, Eric, even moved to Colorado recently to help on the truck. "It's a whole family vibe now," Greenlee says.

Whether you're from the South and are craving something that's going to take you back home, or you just want to experience a taste of the region, Deja Roux has your fix, from its crispy fried Mississippi catfish and Gulf shrimp po'boys to fried green tomatoes and burgers.

To find Deja Roux, check out the truck locator on its website. The truck will also be at Zuni Street Brewing Company (2355 West 29th Avenue) on February 21 for its third annual Fat Tuesday crawfish boil starting at 2 p.m.