BOCAGE COUNTRY CLUB HIGHLAND JEFFERSON TERRACE KENILWORTH PERKINS SOUTHDOWNS UNIVERSITY CLUB
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W e d n e s d ay, O c t o b e r 22, 2025
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From St. Landry Parish to the big stage
STAFF PHOTOS BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
Founder of Red Stick Refinement April Setliff, left, and reporter Maddie Scott place dessert spoons above dinner plates while preparing table settings during an etiquette lesson at Setliff’s home.
Mind your manners
A fading art, etiquette is still important in modern times BY MADDIE SCOTT
Staff writer
t our home in Covington, my Cuban mother taught me to chew with my mouth closed. And that was the extent of my table manners. My mom cooked every night, mostly American or Cuban food, and we only went to restaurants for special occasions. Now don’t get me wrong — I’m no heathen at the dinner table, but I didn’t know until recently that placing a napkin on your lap is the first thing to do once sitting for a meal. In my new role as a food writer, I recognized that my etiquette knowledge needed a refresh. April Palombo Setliff is the pinnacle of grace. She started Red Stick Refinement in 2018 in Baton Rouge, a business teaching lads and lassies like me the ins and outs of etiquette. She started the venture inspired by her interest in entertaining. “I started thinking,” Setliff said, “‘How do I teach the next generation to be good hosts and hostesses?’ So Red Stick Refinement stems from that. How to throw a
A table setting meticulously placed by April Setliff, founder of Red Stick Refinement. good party is the bottom line and make people feel comfortable and make a memorable experience.” At its essence, having good etiquette is the ability to adapt to social situations, she said, while also being a confidence builder for those who practice it. “If you treat other people with kindness, you’ll make the right eti-
quette decision,” she said. Setliff welcomed me to her home recently for a private lesson on table etiquette.
Utensils, napkins and flashbacks First, I learned how to set the table using her grandmother’s silver,
ä See ETIQUETTE, page 3G
“I’m trying to do my little bit to preserve those little details of life to make someone else’s day better.” APRIL PALOMBO SETLIFF, Red Stick Refinement founder
Besides winning two Grammys, Terrance Simien has also played zydeco music in 45 countries, performed at President Bill Clinton’s inaugural ball and shared the stage and studio with Paul Simon, Robert Palmer, Los Lobos, Stevie Wonder and other stars. His music was featured in the Disney animated classic “The Princess and the Frog,” along with its new spinoff ride Herman at Disney World, Fuselier “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.” Not bad for a Creole country boy from Mallet, a community in rural St. Landry Parish. One of Simien’s fondest memories came during his first European tour in 1988, while opening shows for Fats Domino and Sarah Vaughn. He sensed an unusual smell in the hallway of his fancy hotel in Bern, Switzerland. “When I walked down the hall, it was Fats Domino cooking red beans and rice in his room,” Simien said recently on my “Zydeco Stomp” radio show. “He called me ‘ecrevisse,’ crawfish in French. “He said, ‘Taste that. What you think it needs?’ It’s perfect,” Simien said. “He said, ‘I’m going to fix you a little plate, but don’t tell nobody. I don’t have enough for everybody.’ That will always be the best red beans and rice I’ve had in my life.” Simien and his band, Zydeco Experience, will serve up a rare home performance Saturday at Rock ‘n’ Bowl in downtown Lafayette. Simien’s first show in Lafayette in six years comes as thousands are in town for the 51st annual Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. Memories started early for Simien who, at the age of 19, was recording with Paul Simon. Two years later, a performance in the landmark movie “The Big Easy” followed. His national splash opened cultural doors. Simien, along with the Sam Brothers Five, fellow St. Landry Parish natives, were the only teenagers playing zydeco. “Everybody else was 20 years older than us,” said Simien, who turned 60 on Sept. 3. “What happened is what you wanted to happen. Now, there are more young people playing the music than us old dudes. “I’m so proud to see that happen, to know that the music is going to live on. And they keep coming.” Throughout his 45 years of touring, Simien has also been an advocate for Louisiana music, tourism and his native Creole culture. He and his wife/manager Cynthia lobbied the Recording Academy for seven years to establish a Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album category from 2008 to 2011. “Creole for Kidz and the History of Zydeco,” Simien’s interactive, education program, has
ä See SIMIEN, page 3G
Did actress Elizabeth Taylor ever film in Louisiana? BY ROBIN MILLER
Staff writer
At the beginning of Taylor Swift’s second track on her celebrated new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” she asks, “Elizabeth Taylor ... Do you think it’s forever?” Swift parallels her life with that of the legendary actress — another Taylor — comparing their timelines of whirl-
wind fame and stormy love lives. But does that superstardom last forever?
Elizabeth Taylor trends According to Google Trends, “Who is Elizabeth Taylor?” searches were up 9,000%, as Swifties rush to discover the work of the actress, whose glow seems to have faded among the young.
Now, that doesn’t mean the masses have forgotten Taylor. It’s just that most Swifties don’t watch Turner Classic Movies. So, naturally, they wouldn’t know that Taylor was a regular visitor to New Orleans long before Swift’s “Eras Tour” conquered the Superdome for three nights last October. Still, Dee Jeffers has some
questions. She’s definitely not a Swiftie, but she keeps up with the news, and she’s noticed how Swift put the other Taylor back into the spotlight. “It made me start thinking about Elizabeth Taylor’s movies,” the Baton Rouge resident said. “I know she made some movies that were set in
ä See CURIOUS, page 3G
A promotional photo of Elizabeth Taylor from the 1957 film ‘Raintree County,’ which was shot nearby in Mississippi. The filming was supposed to continue in St. Francisville afterward but was canceled. PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGE