Before the trinity even hits the skillet or the andouille starts to sizzle, or that pot of red beans simmers into a creamy finish, there’s that soft pour of rice sliding from the bag into the pot. It’s the sound that says dinner is almost ready. Whether it’s red beans on Monday, a Friday-night jambalaya, or a simple pot of dirty rice on any given Tuesday, that rice is never really an afterthought, even though it doesn’t get the main attention. It’s the foundation that soaks up every drop of flavor and holds the whole plate together. That, to me, is Supreme Rice.
In kitchens from Crowley to the Quarter and far beyond, Supreme Rice has been part of that ritual for generations. It’s the bag you reach for without thinking twice because it just works. Supreme recently marked ninety years in business, and while the company has grown from a single small mill into Louisiana’s largest rice operation, the story still starts the same way it always has: with local farmers, Southwest Louisiana soil, and a commitment to doing rice right.
Their story begins in 1936 with Joseph Doré. He organized the Supreme Rice Mill in Kaplan and ran it for a year before buying the Simon Rice Mill in Crowley the following year and giving it the Supreme name. Crowley wasn’t chosen by accident. By the late 1800s, the town, which was founded in 1887 by the Duson brothers, had already earned its nickname as the Rice Capital of America. Now they call it the Rice Capital of the World. Railroads made it a natural hub for hauling rice from the surrounding prairie fields, and the warm climate and long growing season meant farmers could often pull off two crops a year.
Joseph Doré saw the future coming. After World War II, when harvesting shifted from old-fashioned field-dried shocks and threshing to modern combines, he built one of the first commercial rice-drying units in the industry. Those early moves kept the mill ahead of the curve and the rice fresher than ever.
The Doré family kept the operation going through the decades. Joseph’s son Joseph Jr. ran things until his death in 1959; brother Gordon stepped in, and Gordon’s son Bill became president in 1986. Bill even served as chairman of the Rice Millers’ Association as the third generation of Dorés to hold that role. In 2007, the mill was acquired by Louisiana Rice Mill (later renamed Supreme Rice, LLC in 2017), with Bobby Hanks stepping in as chairman and CEO. Bill stayed involved, sharing decades of know-how, and the family connection continues today through farmers like Jake Doré, who still supplies rice to the mill his grandfather founded.
Supreme Rice shared this photo on their Facebook page.
Under Hanks’ leadership, the company has expanded and kept Supreme at the forefront while staying rooted in Crowley. Today, the operation processes more than a billion pounds of rice a year, which is shipped to more than fifty countries. It’s still privately held and American-owned, and partnered with Fortune 500 retailers.
Did you know that the bag of Kirkland Signature rice sold at Costco is Supreme? Their rice is still grown almost exclusively by local Southwest Louisiana farmers on some of the best rice land in the country. That’s nearly 500,000 acres of prime prairie soil.
Every grain starts with local families—K&K Farms, Jake Doré Farms, the Zaunbrecher operations, McLain Farms, and others—who practice conservation and stewardship alongside modern farming. The rice is cleaned, milled, and packaged with care at the Crowley facility right off the railroad tracks that have carried Louisiana rice around the world for generations.
You’ll find Supreme’s white long-grain, medium-grain, brown long-grain, aromatic jasmine, low-glycemic long-grain, and parboiled varieties in bags from two to one hundred pounds. Many packages even feature the profile of the actual farmer who grew that rice. It’s that old-school touch that reminds you this isn’t commodity grain; it’s someone’s livelihood and someone’s family recipe.
And that rice matters in ways that go far beyond the grocery shelf. Crowley’s International Rice Festival, which started in 1937 (the same year Supreme moved to town), has welcomed millions of visitors over the decades with gumbo cook-offs, rice-eating contests, parades, and plenty of plates piled high with the local staple.
Rice built this town, and it still does. It’s the reason so many Cajun and Creole dishes are considered comfort food: red beans and rice that actually get creamy without turning to paste, jambalaya that holds its texture, étouffée with rice that soaks up every bit of the sauce, or dirty rice that’s properly “dirty” because the grains stay distinct.
Now, that’s an old photo of mine from at least 2018. The Supreme Rice packaging has changed since then, but the quality has remained the same. I just wanted to show you that I’ve been a loyal member of “Team Supreme” for a long time.
I keep a bag of Supreme in the pantry at all times, right next to the Camellia beans. When the rice cooker clicks or the pot lid starts rattling, I know the meal is going to be right. It’s not overpowering. It’s dependable. It’s the same way Monday red beans have been for generations.
{photo credit: Supreme Rice Facebook page}
To learn more about Supreme Rice and to follow them on social media:
- website: https://supremerice.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SupremeRice
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supreme_rice/
Where Can You Buy Supreme Rice?
You can generally find it in grocery stores across Louisiana. Kroger sells the Supreme Rice brand, as well. If you have a Costco membership, you can purchase the Kirkland Signature rice.
If none of these options are available to you, you can always purchase them online at places like:
- Cajun Grocer: https://www.cajungrocer.com/supreme-rice?
My Favorite Recipes using Supreme Rice?
If you’ve never cooked with Supreme, try it with your next pot of red beans and rice or Crawfish Étouffée. Use it in your jambalaya.
I have a whole new set of recipes coming soon where I put rice front and center. I’ll update this section once I start to publish these recipes. You can also sign up for my newsletter for the latest information.
What are your go-to rice dishes? Do you have a family recipe that only tastes right with a certain bag of rice? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear how Supreme Rice shows up at your table.
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Eric Olsson is the food blogger of RedBeansAndEric.com. He publishes new recipes and interviews weekly. He has developed recipes and written articles for the famous Camellia brand in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been mentioned in Louisiana Cookin‘ magazine and has had recipes featured in Taste of Home magazine – with his Creole Turkey recipe being runner up in their annual Thanksgiving recipe contest. He lives outside of Detroit, Michigan, with his wife and four children.
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