Interview and photographs by Sara Roahen for Southern Foodways Alliance
Robert Collins is a third-generation shrimp drier in Grand Isle. His son, also named Robert, seems poised to take the company into its fourth generation. Robert inherited the family business, Louisiana Dried Shrimp Co., from his father, who learned to dry shrimp from his father, who learned to dry shrimp from Chinese shrimp driers who used to corner the dried shrimp market in and around Grand Isle.
