From small town to national stage – John Foster’s family tells the real story that Idol viewers missed
On any given Monday, the daily lunch special at Benoit’s Country Meat Block in Addis is meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and dessert for $10.99, but these days, every plate lunch comes with a heaping side of John Foster pride.
Located, as the crow flies, about a half mile from the Mississippi River, Benoit’s Country Meat Block’s roots are deep in Cajun Country. The store is owned by “American Idol” sensation John Foster’s family, whose grandparents hail from Church Point and Lawtell.
When Foster showed up for his “American Idol” audition in Nashville, he brought care packages of boudin, Benoit’s seasoning and beef jerky from his family’s business in Addis, where they sell the full range of Cajun delicacies: hog head cheese, tasso, hot tamales, three types of gumbo, grillades, alligator and 78 other items.
“John Foster loves the beef jerky,” his grandmother, Verbie Benoit, said. “And somebody at ‘American Idol’ loves the seasoning because they ordered a bunch that I delivered the last time we were out there. That’s what Luke Bryan was licking off his fingers because he said it was so good.”
At 75, Benoit says she never anticipated “all of this” and admits that the foofaraw around her grandson is, at times, overwhelming. Even so, she’s ready for the show, in every sense.
“Every week, it’s better and better,” she said. “I didn’t know he had more talent to show us, but he does.”
She has her suitcase ready and a rosary in her purse. She is heading back to Hollywood, along with 31 family members, to watch John Foster Sunday night in the “Top Ten” show of the ABC singing competition.
They will all be in the audience cheering him on, but his grandmother will also be praying.
“I pray for him — not necessarily for him to win,” she said, “but for God to be with him.”
Benoit says she’s not worried that all of the fame will go to her grandson’s head. She saw the spark early in him and recognized when he was 4 years old that he had bright lights and a big future ahead.
He’s continuing his second semester at LSU studying biology, doing classes online. He’s still got dreams of becoming a doctor one day. His grandmother says
“He has such a good head on his shoulders that I don’t think that he could ever stray from anything good,” she said. “He’s just that kid.”
Yes, he’s smart, she said — co-valedictorian of his graduating class last year. Yes, he’s talented — top 10 on “American Idol.” But what his grandmother is most proud of is that “he’s a good Christian boy.”
She had thoughts regarding one of his middle school teachers who said she always thought Foster would become governor of Louisiana one day.
“We always told him to be president,” his grandmother said.
Behind the meat counter
Back in Addis, the folks behind the meat counter have their own stories to tell.
Rick Bourgoyne has worked at Benoit’s Country Meat Block since 1988, and he has a message for people: John Foster is a stage name. His full name is John Foster Benoit.
“ I was telling his daddy. I said, ‘I hope people don’t think that’s his last name because he is a Benoit, and this (the store) is Benoit’s,'” Bourgoyne said about Foster. “His middle name is Foster, just like his daddy and his grandfather’s. He’s the third.”
Blake Sarradet has worked at the store for 17 years.
The two have watched Foster grow up.
“He works here some during the Christmas holidays,” Sarradet said. “But we’ve also watched him perform locally. We knew he was good, but he keeps getting better.”
Regina DeBenedetto has only worked at Benoit’s for two years, but she’s all-in for Foster on “American Idol.” She voted for him 30 times Monday night by texting the number 13 to 21523. She said she encourages everyone else to do the same.
“He’s a great person. I’ve seen, since I’ve watched the show, that he listens to what they say,” DeBenedetto said. “The coaches will tell him to do something, and he listens to it, and then he brings it on stage.”
Whether he ends up a superstar or a doctor, the folks at Benoit’s know one thing for sure: John Foster Benoit will remain one of their own. They’ve always known he’s got the right ingredients — talent, humility and a dash of Cajun seasoning.
