When he’s not standing over a stove for hours a day making a fresh batch of boudin, Joshua Bernard likes to spend his free time with his family. First called the “Boudin Man” by one of his customers, Bernard is a Houston resident, but the New Iberia native never forgets his roots. If you ask him, he takes pride in it.

What do you like to do for fun?

I like to bowl, skate and fish. I’m an outdoor person so I usually get the kids, anything outdoors. I don’t care if it’s a walk to the park, the rodeos, we like to get outdoors.

What do you like most about being outdoors?

The people. The people. Seeing new things, the scenery. Even though I’m not there anymore, and I know Texas has more money and everything than Louisiana and there is one thing that Texas will not beat Louisiana on and that’s the scenery. I missed the times I could walk out the front yard of my aunt’s house in Lydia and lay a blanket out on the front yard for six hours and don’t bother me.

What is it about the scenery that you like in Louisiana?

Just everything. It’s the calm of it all. People want to make you happy and make you smile and people want to make sure you have fun. And that’s why Mardi Gras and those things that we carry are fun because it doesn’t matter where you are in Louisiana, people are going to make sure you enjoy yourself.

Why do you love Lydia so much?

I would spend my summers there. And I guess that’s where I came up, so it’s like if you know about Lydia, ain’t nobody going anywhere. I still have people there that call me JJ and I haven’t been called JJ since I was 4 and I still go to Lydia.