BATON ROUGE, La. – Like many credit unions in New Orleans, Campus Federal Credit Union is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The $319 million CU lost three branches and a third of its staff may not come back, said John Milazzo, president/CEO. The CU serves Louisiana State University, which had to furlough 5,000 employees. The encouraging news is the CU employees that stayed are now working at branches in Shreveport and Baton Rouge and a new branch just opened in Metairie. "We're very committed to going back to New Orleans," Milazzo said. Meanwhile, the CEO's love for Cajun cooking has been sort of an escape from the devastation. Milazzo is considered by many to be the go-to guy if you want to know the right ingredients to make a savory gumbo or a spicy jambalaya. He regularly pulls out his old, heavy, cast-iron kettle pots to cook meals for 200 or more people, including for United Way and other CU fund-raisers. He's concocted his own secret seasoning blend – "John's Almost Famous Cajun Seasoning" – which he bottles up and sends to family and friends as gifts. "I love to eat," Milazzo said. "My dad was an amateur cook. He and my mother were fine cooks. I come from an Italian family that loves to eat." The Milazzos hold an "open house" every New Year's Day and invite folks over for turkey and andouille sausage gumbo and/or a crawfish boil. The secret to a good jambalaya? Mahatma's extra-long grain rice and Tasso, which is cured, seasoned ham, he said. And any Cajun food connoisseur should know that if the rue isn't the perfect color, taste and smell, you might as well start all over again. "A cast-iron cooking utensil is the best way to go because it holds in the heat," Milazzo said. "I don't know anyone in Southwest Louisiana without a pot to boil crawfish." The Milazzos live in a 90-year old home surrounded by sugar cane fields, 400-year old Oak trees with hanging limbs and moss and folks who speak with a distinct French dialect. "A lot of my secrets come from them," Milazzo said. They recently overhauled their entire kitchen and installed professional grade stoves and ovens. Milazzo and his wife, an attorney, have hectic schedules but they always look forward to "date nights." "A date for us is to open a bottle of wine and have a nice meal on a Friday evening," he said. Milazzo considers himself "blessed" that none of his family was affected by Katrina except his son who was enrolled in law school at Loyola University in New Orleans and had to transfer to the Chicago campus to wrap up his studies, scheduled for May. [email protected]