Collection Or Obsession? Louisiana Eats Explores The World Of Culinary Collecting

Ed Piglia and Poppy Tooker at Ed's warehouse filled with New Orleans memorabilia.

JOE SHRINER

On this week’s show, we spend a day in the life of Louisiana’s most fascinating culinary collectors.

We begin in the French Quarter at Lucullus Antiques, where owner Patrick Dunne takes us into the mind of a collector and describes his favorite hidden gems of the culinary collecting world.

Then, we take a visit to Kitchen Witch, a shop of books for cooks. When Philippe LaMancusa began his career in the restaurant industry back in the Sixties, he quickly learned that the more cookbooks he collected, the more culinary experience he could gain. With 10,000 books now in their collection, Philippe and his partner Debbie Lindsey have found a new home for their books and other collectibles in the Seventh Ward.

We also have a conversation with Ray and B.J. Bordelon, whose extensive collection of absinthe antiques and accouterments is on display at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. The Bordelon brothers give us some insight into their obsession and show us some unique relics that make up the exhibit.

Finally, we arrive at the collection to end all collections — Ed Piglia’s warehouse in Kenner. For the past 30 years, Ed has been collecting New Orleans memorabilia of all kinds, where each turn brings another blast from the past.

We're delving into obsession and collection on this week’s Louisiana Eats!