VALENTINE, Neb. — Alligator on the menu? That’s not something you see every day in Nebraska, but one food truck is bringing a taste of the South to small towns across the state.

Pat Lafleur, originally from Opelousas, Louisiana, launched his Cajun Prairie food truck part-time in 2013 and full-time in 2018 after years of missing the flavors of home. When he moved to Nebraska in 2009, he started making his own boudin and smoked sausage while working as an electrician.

“A friend from Louisiana who was living in North Dakota kept talking about how bad the food was up there,” Lafleur said. “I told him they needed jambalaya. He said if you can make jambalaya, you can make more than being an electrician, so I bought a food truck.”

Since then, Lafleur has been traveling across Nebraska, serving Cajun staples such as jambalaya, red beans and rice, boudin balls and, yes, alligator. He estimates he serves 300 to 500 customers per day, sometimes going through 1,000 pounds of food.

“We make a lot of boudin every week,” Lafleur said. “It’s cooked pork with rice, parsley, green onions and seasoning. We roll them into like a Cajun meatball.”

The truck draws visitors from near and far. On a recent stop in Valentine, customer Parker Wallin of Shelton said he and his group had just finished golfing at the Prairie Club when they decided to try Cajun Prairie.

“We were hungry and wanted some Cajun food,” Wallin said. “We need some boudin balls.”

Lafleur said many people think Cajun food is always spicy, but it’s more about depth of flavor.

“Cajun is a lot of steps of cooking to bring out flavors,” he said. “Everything is seasoned, but not much of it is real hot. If people say Cajun food is hot, they didn’t have Cajun food.”

For Lafleur, Cajun Prairie is more than a business — it’s a way to bring Louisiana traditions to Nebraska.

“It means a lot to share where I come from with people here,” he said.