Louisiana Eats

New Orleans chefs Susan Spicer and Frank Brigtsen are both culinary icons. They are also back-to-back recipients of the coveted Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award, presented each year by the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience: Frank was recognized in 2022; Susan received the 2023 award last week at a gala celebration at The Four Seasons Hotel.

On this week's show, we sit down with both honorees – who each have culinary careers spanning over 40 years – to learn about their successes and the challenges they overcame to become the legends they are today.

We begin with Chef Susan Spicer. Back in 1998, The New York Times named Susan the “Quiet Star of New Orleans.” 25 years later, she remains one of the city’s most celebrated culinary figures, showcasing her talents at the helm of such restaurants as Bayona and Rosedale. Susan reflects on a career of accomplishments.

And how do you create a life's legacy? If you've ever had a bite of Chef Frank Brigtsen's authentic Creole cooking, you've tasted it. From 1978 through the early ’80s, Chef Frank earned his culinary stripes in the kitchens of Commander's Palace and K-Paul's, working under the watchful eye of Paul Prudhomme. Building on those years of apprenticeship, in 1986, he opened Brigtsen's Restaurant to local and national critical acclaim. The legendary New Orleans chef looks back at his 50-year career in hospitality.

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

In the last few years, many people have turned to home baking as a distraction, as solace, and for fun. But nothing beats the sweet and inventive creations of a professional pastry chef. On this week's show, we get a peek into the lives and careers of those behind the rolling pin.

We begin with internet cake sensation Bronwen Wyatt of Bayou St. Cake. Bronwen's cakes are not only delicious but visually arresting, with designs that draw on the baker's art school education. We learn the role social media played in her launching her small cake company in 2020.

Then, we sit down with Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss, who are bringing freshly baked joy to New Orleans' Marigny neighborhood through their new bakery café, Ayu Bakehouse. They discuss how their education and friendship evolved over the years, leading to their shared vision being realized on Frenchmen Street.

Finally, we hear about the illustrious career of Jacquy Pfeiffer, the James Beard Award-winning pastry chef who helped found The French Pastry School in Chicago and whose quest to win the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (France's top pastry prize) was the subject of a documentary by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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

Twelfth Night 2023 marks 100 years since the birth of the late New Orleans icon, Leah Chase. The culinary legend, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 96, was the undisputed Queen of Creole cooking and a civil rights activist who changed lives over a bowl of gumbo. On this week's show, we spend the hour honoring Leah's talent, achievements, and lasting legacy.

We begin with one of our favorite Louisiana Eats moments: a special day we spent with Leah eleven years ago, when then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu kicked off the official start of the 2012 Carnival season at Gallier Hall with king cake and a surprise for Leah on her 89th birthday.

From there, we look back on Leah's early life in Madisonville, Louisiana. Leah describes her earliest days growing up on a strawberry farm, and the lessons she learned that shaped the legend she would become. We continue with an oral history from NOLA Life Stories, in which Leah recounts her first experiences working in a café in the French Quarter, as told to Mark Cave of the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Next, we arrive at a turning point in Leah's life — the moment she met big band leader Edgar "Dooky" Chase, Jr. Following their marriage, Leah went to work at Dooky's, her in-laws' simple sandwich shop in the Treme. As she began to serve Creole classics like gumbo and Chicken Clemenceau on fine linen, Leah elevated the dining culture for everyone. Leah tells us about her famous Gumbo z'Herbes, a dish she served at her restaurant every Holy Thursday for over 60 years.

We also chronicle how Leah rebuilt Dooky Chase's after Hurricane Katrina. Eleven years after the storm, Leah experienced two other monumental life events — the first was her 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation. Months later, Leah's husband and partner Edgar "Dooky" Chase — the man who played a key role in her success — passed away at the age of 88. In this final segment, Leah reflects on their relationship and shares her thoughts on death and living a fulfilling life.

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

This week, we look back at some memorable highlights from 2022 and remember those we've lost. We begin with our 2011 conversation with Tennessee Williams scholar Dr. Kenneth Holditch, who died in December. A professor at the University of New Orleans, Dr. Holditch helped establish festivals honoring Williams' life here and in two other cities. Dr. Holditch shares stories of the Pulitzer-winning playwright, whom he counted among his many friends.

Then, we take you back to Jackson Square, where Today Show co-stars Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager tell us what keeps bringing them back to the Crescent City. That's before we visit a place for tourists and locals alike: Vue Orleans. Located at the foot of Canal Street, the 20-million-dollar multimedia experience includes a trip to the 34th floor for a 360-degree view of the city.

Finally, we return – with an update – to the backyard garden of Jack Sweeney, a New Orleanian whose okra plant grew so tall that it got the attention of the folks at Guinness World Records.

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

What do Antoine’s in New Orleans, Sylvia’s in Harlem, The Mandarin in San Francisco, and the once powerful chain of Howard Johnson’s restaurants all have in common? According to Yale professor Paul Freedman, they are all part of an influential group of Ten Restaurants That Changed America. On this week’s show, we sit down with Paul to discuss his book by that name, which weaves together culinary and social history – from lunch counter dining to the vanguards of haute cuisine.

We then zoom in on a key part of that history with Jim Heimann, Executive Editor for publishing house TASCHEN America, whose book Menu Design in America traces the evolution of dining culture through the development of the bill of fare.

Finally, we explore the role a New Orleans supermarket chain played in shaping the modern retail world. David Cappello discusses his biography of John G. Schwegmann, a complex figure whose influence extended far beyond the checkout aisle.

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

It is an undisputed fact that Louisiana grows some of the best restaurant

talent in the nation. On this week's show, we sit down with the best and

the brightest of Louisiana's legacy restaurant families. We begin with the

next generation running Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Since the

death of Leah Chase in 2019, the crew she always referred to as "the

grands" have stepped up to nurture and grow the legacy Leah established

with her husband, the late Edgar "Dooky" Chase Jr.

It's the time of year for celebrations, and on this week's show, we're

bringing the party – but without the booze! Our zero-proof holiday begins

with a visit to Dream House Lounge in New Orleans. There, Dr. David Wallace

serves up drinks that use adaptogens like kava or reishi mushrooms instead

of alcohol. Aside from its delicious drinks and energizing oxygen bar,

Dream House is a place where David encourages what he calls "soul-care" – a

place for guests to nurture good spiritual and mental health.

Alcohol in almost any form is one of the oldest medicines known to man. On this week's show, we explore the world of high proof healing. We start with Camper English, author of Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails. Camper covers everything from mystic botanicals and their monastic apothecary origins to the unusual relationship between syphilis and root beer.

The conversation continues with Noah Rothbaum, who expounds on curatives that found their way from the medicine cabinet to the liquor cabinet.

And then of course, there was that troublesome period known as Prohibition. That's when the apothecary filled your prescription for alcohol and soda fountains became commonplace at the pharmacy. Darcy O’Neil joins us for a conversation that may have you rethinking what you knew about the soda fountain.

Finally, we visit Poppy's personal apothecary on the corner. Stephanie Haeberlin of Art Farm creates all sorts of healing and beauty products that originate in her garden on Canal Boulevard in New Orleans.

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

Whether it's newly built or has been in your family for generations, your

home is your refuge and sanctuary. It's where you nurture your family and

where friends come to call. On this week's show, we have lots of friends

who have come a-calling with advice on how to make your home the spot where

everyone wants to be.

On this week's show, we gather around the table to delve into Thanksgiving

stories and recipes. We begin with Chef Kevin Belton. The public television

host shares childhood memories of his mother, Sarah Thomas Belton who took

Thanksgiving hospitality to a whole new level.