Louisiana Eats

The elves are busy in Santa's workshop at this time of year! So as we head into the big holiday gift-giving time, Louisiana Eats is talking with some home-grown, Louisiana elves for delicious inspiration.

First, we hear from Jady Regard, CNO (Chief Nut Officer) and second-generation proprietor of Cane River Pecan Company. He tells us how the past half-century has seen his family's enterprise grow from a small Acadian pecan orchard to a purveyor of fine culinary gifts starring the state's official nut.

Next, we head down to New Orleans' Lower Garden District to speak with Christopher Nobles of Piety and Desire Chocolates. Since founding his bespoke business in 2017, the local chocolatier has been uncompromising in his reverence and passion for chocolate, while balancing science and art in his bean-to-bar production.

Finally, as Orleans Coffee celebrates 40 years of quenching the Crescent City's thirst, owner Bob Arceneaux recounts how this local company has expanded to a national level. Bob also fills us in on the special anniversary blend recently introduced.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

In our increasingly fast-paced world, traditional foods and foodways often have trouble competing with speed and convenience. But never fear. All over the planet there are people working to save the superior flavor, nutrition, and cultural significance of heritage foods. On this week's show, we introduce you to some of our greatest heritage food warriors.

We begin with Sarah Lohman, author of Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods, who recounts her adventure researching some of the country's rarest ingredients and the often extraordinary efforts to preserve them.

Next, we meet a trio of folks from an organization at the center of this movement, Slow Food USA. They discuss their book, The Ark of Taste: Delicious and Distinctive Foods That Define the United States, which provides an in-depth look at some of the stories behind these disappearing flavors.

Finally, we speak with classically trained chef and food anthropologist Casey Corn. She hosts Magnolia Network's Recipe Lost and Found, a show that helps families recover their long-lost recipes and the memories that go with them.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Japan may once have seemed like a world away, but the most delicious elements of Japanese food and drink culture have become increasingly embedded in our American psyche. On this week's show, we celebrate the complexity and craftsmanship of Japanese drinking culture.

We begin with Christopher Pellegrini, longtime homebrewer, Honkaku Spirits founder, and author of The Shochu Handbook. Originally from Vermont, Christopher now lives in Tokyo, where he has become a Japanese spirit evangelist. He introduces us to shochu, one of Japan's most popular distilled spirits, and one of the best-kept secrets everywhere else.

Next, we hear Stephen Lyman, author of the James Beard-nominated book, The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks. Stephen recounts the intriguing history of Takamine koji whisky, and the remarkable 19th-century Japanese chemist whose work inspired it.

Finally, in Japan, drinks are always accompanied by snacks, often in a bar and eatery called an izakaya. Restaurateur Jackie Blanchard drops by to explain how a Cajun girl raised on Bayou Lafourche ended up crossing the world to open Sukeban, an authentic izakaya, right here on Oak Street the Crescent City.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Who taught you how to cook? Perhaps it was a favorite family member or Julia Child on public television. Maybe you devour cookbooks on the weekend just for fun. The education of a professional chef can be just varied – be it a formal degree or on-the-job training. On this week's show, we explore culinary learning.

We begin at one of Louisiana's educational treasures, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. To mark this milestone, we revisit our trip to the school's Marigny neighborhood campus. There, chefs Emeril Lagasse and Dana D'Anzi Tuohy explain the origins of NOCCA's celebrated Culinary Arts program.

Then, chef and cooking school director Dee Lavigne talks with us about African American chef and entrepreneur Lena Richard. By the 1940s, Richard had become the Crescent City's premier caterer, educator, and the first local TV food personality.

Finally, we look outside of the state to learn how Anne Willan achieved legendary success on both sides of the pond. Founder of the prestigious La Varenne Cooking School, which operated in Paris and Burgundy, France from 1975 until 2007, Anne's also a prolific author whose award-winning cookbooks are available in 35 different languages.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

A recipe can be more than a guide to making food. On this week's show, we meet culinary detectives who are using recipes to unlock the past. We begin with the inspiring story of humanity preserved through recipes from the time of the Holocaust. Chef Alon Shaya joins us to share the story of a family cookbook he encountered while visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and how it led to a collaboration and friendship with Steven Fenves, a man who survived the horrors of that time. Through their Rescued Recipes project, Alon and Steven have raised over $500,000 to benefit the same museum that brought them together.

Then, we speak with culinary historian Gerald Patout, whose lifelong obsession with cookbooks led him to uncover a nearly forgotten tome: "The Lafayette Cookbook." As Gerald explains to us, there's really nothing typically Cajun in the century-old recipe collection. Due to his efforts, the book has been reprinted, and is now available to order via UL Press or First United Methodist Church of Downtown Lafayette.

Finally, historian Miki Pfeffer joins us with tales of New Orleans' own Grace King, whose life spanned the period from before the Civil War to the Great Depression. She describes how this celebrated literary figure relished the art of dining and had a lifelong fascination with food. Miki's latest book is "A New Orleans Author in Mark Twain’s Court: Letters from Grace King's New England Sojourns."

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

As we creep closer to October 31, Louisiana Eats is getting into the spooky spirit with our annual Halloween episode. This year, we've cooked up some pretty delicious and unsettling tales for you!

We begin with culinary historian Sarah Lohman who travels back in time to share the earliest food traditions surrounding death. Sarah tells us stories of the funeral fare that gives a whole new meaning to being close with one's family.

Next, we bring you to Slidell, where during an interview taping in August the Louisiana Eats crew experienced a haunting – right in the middle of the day – at Palmettos on the Bayou. Executive chef Ross Dover and owner Duffy Ramirez tell us about the restaurant's poltergeists, whom they lovingly refer to as "the Baseball Kids."

Then, we're joined by bartenders Kelsey Ramage and Erin Hayes, whose love of Halloween led them to what is now an international pop-up bar experience called Black Lagoon. Fittingly, their story all begins right here at the Dungeon in New Orleans' French Quarter.

Finally, we go after grandma's long lost potato salad recipe with the help of Mary Ann Winkowski, author of Beyond Delicious: The Ghost Whisperer's Cookbook.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

The way we eat and talk about food is linked to our individual and collective identities. On this week's show, we look at the origins of some of our favorite foods and common misconceptions about them.

We begin with journalist and food historian Lolis Eric Elie who discusses his journey to uncover the true origins of New Orleans' Creole food, along with the often-overlooked African contributions.

Then, James Beard award-winning author Anya von Bremzen explores the fascinating journey some foods have taken before becoming recognized as a dish that represents a country. Her new book, National Dish, explores how history, culture, colonialism, race, and even politics can play a part in this complex story.

Finally, we meet playwright and stage director Eva Doumbia. Her performance piece, Autophagies (Self-Eaters), which was performed in New Orleans in March, explores food history, its colonial legacies, and human cost. Eva joined us in our studio, along with interpreter Amelia Parenteau.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Less than an hour's drive from New Orleans' French Quarter, Baton Rouge, and Mississippi's Gulf Coast is Lake Pontchartrain's Northshore. The charming towns of Madisonville, Mandeville, and Abita Springs are filled with hospitality and delicious dining opportunities. On this week's show, we cross the Causeway to visit our Northshore neighbors.

We begin at the Covington Farmers Market, which is widely considered to be one of the best markets in the state. We hear from market founder Bo Gallup and a pair of indomitable sisters – Jan Biggs and Ann McKenzie Mellon – who have kept the market rolling for decades.

Then, we go just a handful of blocks over to Covington's main drag, where Torre and David Solazzo's Del Porto Ristorante and their casual gastropub, The Greyhound, are bringing big, new flavors to the city's diners.

Finally, we head a bit further north to the rural town of Bush, Louisiana, where Ross McKnight and his family have cracked the code on true, American-made foie gras at Backwater Farmstead.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

For more than twenty years, Torre and David Solazzo have crafted an idyllic small-town life while bringing big, new flavors to Covington diners – first, at their fine-dining establishment, Del Porto Ristorante, and more recently at their gastropub, The Greyhound. David and Torre are both professionally trained chefs whose romance began in 1999, when they worked side-by-side on the line at Tra Vigne, one of Northern California's most prestigious restaurants at the time.

We sat down together in our Louisiana Eats studios to hear the full story of how two of the Northshore's favorite restaurants came to be. The whole family gets in on the act – even the Solazzos' only child, 11-year-old Evelyn – who seems to love the restaurant business as much as Mom and Dad.

To write a cookbook, a good author will go to great lengths to perfect a recipe or understand a cuisine. On this week's show, we meet four food writers who are driven by a deep culinary curiosity. You may know Melissa Clark from her weekly column in the New York Times food section or from one of her 45-odd published cookbooks. We join Melissa in the studio to discuss the art of recipe-making to find out what led the prolific author to a life in food.

We also speak with Vicky Bennison, the creator of the YouTube sensation, Pasta Grannies. The series takes Vicky across Italy into the kitchens of everyday women preparing the signature dish in every possible way. We learn about the British native's book of the same name, and learn what led her to chronicle Italy's aging home cooks.

After years of interviewing an impressive array of American culinary talent for his podcast Flavors Unknown, Emmanuel Laroche compiled these dialogues for his new book, "Conversations Behind The Kitchen Door." The French-born Emmanuel shares with us what he discovered about our nation's food culture today.

Finally, Alabama-born expat Marti Buckley takes us to Spain's Basque region, which she explores in her cookbook "Basque Country." We learn why the culture and cuisine of the Basque people enticed Marti to abandon her Southern roots for a decidedly different kind of life.

For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.