Hi, I'm Melanie! And yes, I was one of Food Network's 100 Cooks!
If you found me through the show, welcome! I'm so glad you're here. Pull up a chair, because the food you saw on your screen is just the beginning. This is The Cagle Diaries - a Southern and Cajun food blog straight out of Houma, Louisiana, where we cook with soul, spice, and a little British twist.
Just a British girl, transplanted in the deep south of Louisiana, raising my two babies and trying not to get carried away by the mosquitoes!
It took me a while to figure my way around things here but in the end I realized life boils down to two things here. Good food.... and great food.
I learned how to make the best roux, that most dishes need a Holy Trinity and you can put Creole Seasoning on pretty much everything!
If you're not from Louisiana (like me) but want to learn how to cook like a Cajun, I got you. I get it - because I've been there.
Here on The Cagle Diaries blog you'll find great southern and Cajun inspired dishes with step-by-step tutorials helping you make these great dishes perfectly every time.
How It All Began
So there I was, minding my own business. I worked as an expat traveling from Cape Town, South Africa to Angola West Africa every 28 days. I worked in the oilfield, in the safety and quality division. My job was to keep the guys on track and going home in one piece.
I worked there for 5 years and that was where I met my husband James. We worked for the same company and it wasn't long before he snapped me up and had me living in the USA. All the way down the bayou in fact, in South Louisiana.
We started our own business in Calibration and ran it for 10 years until the fall of the oil price really decimated us and we lost everything.
During that last year I had started recording my culinary journey to share with my family overseas. The easiest way that made the most sense was to share it all on a blog. That was when The Cagle Diaries was born.
During that time I learned that my photography needed to be much better than it was, so interestingly I signed up to learn about food photography (and boy am I glad I did!). I can't begin to explain how this pivot saved my family. At the time I was not aware that you could actually make money this way too. Once I completed the online course and honed my photography skills I immediately started making enough money to pay our bills! Click here if you want to learn more about becoming a Food Photographer too!
🎬 Food Network's 100 Cooks
In 2026, I had the incredible honor of being selected as one of Food Network's 100 Cooks - competing alongside fabulous home cooks from across the country. It was a whirlwind experience that pushed my skills, tested my nerves, and reminded me why I fell in love with cooking in the first place. I'm not going to tell you yet how it went (no spoilers here)... tune in June 7 @ 9/8c on Food Network to start watching the series.
10 Facts About Me You Never Knew
- My favorite color is yellow.
- My biggest fear is to fail (at anything).
- The wildest thing I ever did was to do the highest bungee jump off a bridge in the world. That was wild!
- I used to run. A lot. I ran long distance marathons, even one ultra marathon (56km).
- I ride in Mardi Gras parades in my local town. Great girl time.
- I love German Shepherds. I am a huge fan of the breed.
- I studied wine-making at the University of California (Davis Extension) and have a very healthy respect for the drinking of it 😉
- I am a natural red-head - if you can't tell from the freckles... and blue eyes.
- I used to scuba dive a lot when I lived in South Africa. That was one of my passions.
- I am an Archery fanatic. Not only for the sport, but I love to deer hunt too. I only bow hunt though, I like the challenge - plus we are big venison fans too - so win win. Check out my favorite picture below - I was still hunting when I had 2 weeks to go to give birth!
My Absolute Favorite Picture
My Culinary Credentials
I started my very varied career in the Hotel and Catering Industry. I lived in the hotels I worked in and got to experience every aspect of running a hotel. I absolutely loved the dining side of things I took special interest in the menus and loved watching the preparation of the dishes. Watching those Michelin star master chefs work was inspiring and it's true. Most do have a temper!
Somewhere along the way I pivoted and ended up in the oilfield, which I'm glad I did because I was able to travel in this job and got to experience life and different country's cuisines. I did enjoy the food in South Africa - I lived there for 15 years and absolutely loved it. They have a very Mediterranean style of cooking, which is fabulous.
Since coming to South Louisiana I have become fascinated by the Cajun way of cooking. A lot of African and Spanish influence in the flavors and spices which has evolved due to the hardships of the history here in the South.
Following is a list of the recipes I think you should see first:
Seafood Gumbo - This is one of our favorite recipes - especially during the colder months, it's a traditional south Louisiana dish and is spectacular to serve (with not that much effort!)
Crock Pot Pinto Beans - this has become one of The Cagle Diaries' most famous recipes! It went viral on Reddit for a while and has been pinned on Pinterest too many times to count. It's a surprisingly meaty dish and being cooked in the crock pot it can cook by itself all day!
Boiled Crawfish - If you're like me, I had never even heard of crawfish before I moved here to marry my husband. Boy oh boy they're good though, the combination of everything in this big ol' boiling pot is absolutely delicious.
Banana Pudding Brownies - this was my first really viral recipe that people seem to go nuts over. I know, I get it. It's genius. A chewy brownie that tastes just like banana pudding! This recipe cannot be missed from this list!
Pastalaya - this recipe is so surprisingly easy to make, it is just like Jambalaya but with pasta instead of rice. These Cajuns sure know how to come up with some great food ideas!
There's a few of our most popular recipes to get you started on your way to knowing me. I hope you enjoy, again, feel free to contact me if you have any comments/questions/pointers. I love to hear from my readers.
Love y'all!
Now you know everything about me... it's your turn!
Email me at melanie@thecaglediaries.com - I'd love to hear from you and yes, I do answer my own emails!