This article almost didn’t happen because Walter Voorhies didn’t want to seem as though he was “tooting his own horn.”  But this isn’t a story about a do-gooder so much as it is an illustration of how good character and volunteerism supports a community.

Many have come to know Walter as owner of Voorhies Machine Shop, a third-generation family business, which has been a New Iberia fixture since 1918.

Some may remember him puttering around the shop as a young boy where he learned how to fix just about anything, and where he picked up one of his most valuable lessons: “I watched my father and grandfather help people all their lives,” he says.

Whether it was repairing a candelabra from a local church or weight equipment from a high school, there was always a pro bono project on the floor of the machine shop.  For years, the tricycles for the annual Kiwanis Tricycle Race were built and donated by Voorhies Machine Shop.  The history of this business was the springboard for Walter’s volunteerism and he has shared that heritage broadly, in cooking as well as repairing for most every church and school in Iberia Parish. 

“I was always around cooking – with my parents, aunts and uncles – at our camp in Cypremort Point everything was centered around cooking,” says Walter.  With long-time machine shop customers like Bruce Foods and Trappey’s, he learned how to cook using some of their products.

A desire to be more involved in his children’s lives, prompted him to begin barbequing for school and other fundraisers from the late ‘80s to 2012.  Walter was a mainstay at Epiphany Day School and others:  St. Edwards, Catholic High, St. Joseph’s, as well as area churches.  He estimates that it amounted to barbequing some 14,000 pounds of chicken a year.  There was just one thing missing- the recipe for his favorite barbeque sauce.

Since Walter was young, his brother Paul, who was nicknamed “Uncle,” barbequed for family and friends basting his chicken with a secret sauce like no other Walter had tasted.  “It was really good, but Paul would not share his recipe,” smiles Walter.  That is, until 1992 when Walter cooked meals for federal relief workers after Hurricane Andrew.  That opened the doors to the brothers partnering in 2000 to sell Uncle’s Barbeque Sauce. “We were packing the sauce in empty Arizona Tea bottles,” laughs Walter, who took over the business in 2002.

In 2003, the original machine shop on Corinne Street was converted to a commercial kitchen and a new shop was built just a few hundred feet away.

Since then, the product line has grown from the barbeque sauce to include a pepper jelly, two varieties of salsa, a Memphis-style dry rub, and a seasonal cranberry chutney.

Recently, Walter has gone into partnership again – this time, with his son-in-law, a well-known chef in Baton Rouge whose culinary connections are expected to help expand marketing of the Uncle’s brand.

Days are busy for Walter, who is up at 4 a.m. and before starting work at the machine shop for 6 a.m. heads next door to the kitchen to prepare a batch of his products or cook for his other business interest, a high-end catering service.  Whole roasted beef tenderloin, marinated for three days and cooked on a charcoal and hickory fire, jambalaya, succulent pig roasted to perfection, seafood fettuccine, delicious homemade pies and bread pudding are some of the more requested items prepared primarily for the clients of his machine shop, select customers and out-of-state events.

More amazing than the food, is what else goes on in the unassuming machine shop facade of the kitchen.  Sometime between 4 and 5 a.m., a handful of familiar faces wonder in for a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and, more pointedly, a comfortable forum to talk about the journey in their constant battle against drug or alcohol addictions.

A recovering drug addict and alcoholic for 16 years, Walter says the more he became involved in his own recovery, the more he wanted to offer what he has learned to others.  Word got around New Iberia and those who wanted help began looked for the early morning light in the kitchen that represented a listening ear.  Early Saturday and Sunday mornings have turned out to be more popular days, with four and as many as ten people at a time.  Some of them have been coming for 20 years.

“We talk about politics, sports…problems,” says Walter who works one-on-one with people going through the 12-Step program for drug rehab and alcohol treatment – and the ones who have ‘fallen through the cracks.’  “Sometimes they just come and watch me work.  It’s a safe place where there are two or more people with the same goal of staying sober and being available to another human being in need.”  Walter reiterates that his support is not in place of a 12-Step program.

Recognizing that men and women in recovery have different issues, he has from time to time, invited a small group of women to the kitchen for lunch to discuss their specific challenges.

When asked about his own personal accomplishments, Walter contemplates hard saying, “I’ve been blessed with a lot of achievements, both personally and in the community.”  Only when prompted about the trophies huddled together on a top shelf near the ceiling of the kitchen, he says they are awards from cooking competitions, while promoting the Uncle’s label in Memphis and the southeastern part of the U.S.  Among them, one from the popular Memphis in May competition proclaiming his barbeque ribs as fourth best in the world, out of 132 contestants.

Most recently, in late 2018, Walter was recognized by the Iberia Chamber of Commerce as Volunteer of the Year, recognizing over 20 years of volunteer work at the Annual Gumbo Cookoff in New Iberia.

He is most proud of his family and has spent the past several years “making up for lost time with his three children.” He and his wife, Renee, also enjoy being with their two grandchildren, soon to be three. 

And yes, among his most prideful accomplishments are his own sobriety and the fellowships he has developed with the men and women who have come through his kitchen.

Admittedly a behind-the-scenes guy, Walter says that most people don’t really know him.  But there is definitely something to be learned about humanity in unpeeling the onion layers of Walter Voorhies.