Posts tagged Poppy Tooker
Sex, Violence & Hospitality

Editor's note: this episode contains accounts of sexual assault.

On this week's show, we take a look at sexual harassment and abuse in the restaurant industry.

We speak with service industry leader Tyler Chauvin, who has confronted sexual harassment directly over the course of her career. Now the general manager at Trèo in New Orleans, Tyler has become an unapologetic voice for change, advocating the need to challenge industry norms.

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A Chef's Journey With Cancer

Chef Carl Schaubhut is a culinary dynamo. The New Orleans native behind Bacobar on the Northshore and DTB in Uptown is known for his innovative menus that marry regional and international flavors. "To say that food was part of life is a literal explanation, Carl told Louisiana Eats host Poppy Tooker. "I mean, it is life. It's every day."

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Portraits Of Two Chefs

This week, we’re sharing portraits of two chef-artists, tracing their paths from cradle to culinary greatness. 

First, we hear from James Beard Award-winning chef John Currence, whose upbringing in New Orleans has informed his illustrious restaurant career based in Oxford, Mississippi. John describes the through-lines of his craft, which includes a strong sense of place and a healthy dose of humility.

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Blinded By Science

On this week's show, we meet some mad scientists of the culinary world and uncover some of the greatest technical secrets of the kitchen and bar. We begin with culinary inventor Dave Arnold at New York’s former Booker and Dax, whose collaborations with Chef Wylie Dufresne have resulted in magical molecular gastronomy. He tells us about some of his wildest experiments in the kitchen.

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Halloween Spooktacular

Darkness falls across the land, and Halloween is close at hand. This week, we're getting into the spooky spirit by touring some of Louisiana’s most paranormal locales.

We’ll begin at the center of New Orleans’ supernatural history, the French Quarter. Lisa Blount of Antoine’s Restaurant gives us a tour of their ghostliest sites. 

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Acadiana Road Show

On this week's show, we're traveling through Acadiana to explore traditional and contemporary Cajun foodways. We begin with George Graham, who shares his obsession through stories of cooking in the region through his nationally

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Hot Ham And Cold Beer

Whether it “ain’t der no more” or it’s a holiday tradition, iconic brands have a particular staying power over New Orleanians. We love the foods and flavors of nostalgia. On this week’s show, we look back at some favorite brands of the past, and celebrate others that are still thriving!

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Stories From The Back Of The House

Behind every great restaurant is a great chef. But that chef would be nothing without the scores of people in the front and the back of the house who turn a meal into a memorable experience. On this week's show, we get to know two unsung heroes of hospitality in New Orleans.

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Louisiana Eats: Holiday Entertaining

The holiday season is upon us and we’re throwing the ultimate cocktail party.

No one knows how to entertain quite like Julia Reed. In her book, But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria! she offers a number of stories from a lifetime of rollicking culinary escapades. Julia lets us in on some tips for hosting a cocktail party for the ages.

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Louisiana Eats: A Thanksgiving Cornucopia

On this week’s show, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving by saving a place at the table for several remarkable stories.

First, we spend a day riding along with the volunteers of the Trinity Loaves and Fishes food truck as they cater to the hungry and transient in New Orleans. All year long, volunteers at Trinity Episcopal Church prepare and deliver food throughout the Greater Metropolitan Area.

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Louisiana Eats: Tales Of Powerful Women

On this week's show, we speak with some powerful and influential women in the food industry who are getting the job done.

We begin with local treasure JoAnn Clevenger, restaurateur behind the Upperline. While she is most famous for her Uptown restaurant, JoAnn has worn many different hats over her lifetime, managing multiple businesses with pluck and determination.

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Louisiana Eats: Champions Of Breakfast

On this week's show, we're up at the crack at dawn to examine what many consider to be the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

First, we speak with John Currence, the James Beard Award-winning chef who has earned the title of "Big Bad Chef" at his revered restaurant, Big Bad Breakfast. John tells us tall tales from his breakfast joint in Oxford, Mississippi.

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Louisiana Eats: Farms From Near And Far

On this week's show, we're looking at farming across the state and the Americas.

We begin on the West Coast, with a tour of Gourmet Mushrooms in Sonoma County, California, where they are mimicking natural growing conditions to cultivate specialty mushrooms indoors. This farm harvests eight different varieties of organic mushrooms for food wholesalers, gourmet grocers, and restaurants all across America.

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Louisiana Eats: Treasures From The Table

Perhaps nothing tells the story of a kitchen better than the objects that live in it. On this week’s show, we’re bringing in a panel of experts for an education on culinary antiques and collectibles.

We begin with author and Antiques Roadshow appraiser Nick Dawes. Nick's expertise gives him a remarkable view into the lives of people and their ancestors through the relics that they bring to the show. His visit to the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Antiques Forum gave us the opportunity to tap his vast knowledge of ceramics and glass. 

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Louisiana Eats: Miss Ella Of Commander's Palace

On this week's show, we celebrate Commander's Palace and its visionary matriarch Ella Brennan, whose highly-anticipated memoir is coming out next week.

First, we speak with Ella’s daughter and co-author, Ti Adelaide Martin. Born into her family’s restaurant dynasty, Ti knows all too well her mother’s revered place both in the food industry and in New Orleans history.  Aware of the fascination with her mother’s life story, Ti wrote down a number of stories about Ella over the years that she eventually incorporated into the memoir.

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Louisiana Eats: Sipping Suds From Belgium & Beyond

On this week's show, we explore the thriving craft beer scene, which takes us from Louisiana to Europe and many places in between.


Locally, the undisputed leader of the craft beer revolution is Polly Watts, owner of the Avenue Pub. We have a conversation with Polly and her team, who recently returned from work outing of a lifetime—a trip to Belgium—where they got the opportunity to meet several of the brewers whose special beers grace their extensive menu.

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Louisiana Eats: Coffee, Tea, or ???

On this week’s show, we’re taking a look at the coffee and tea scene across Louisiana.


We begin with Geoffrey Meeker, owner of French Truck Coffee. It took only one cup of coffee from San Francisco to inspire him to become a New Orleans coffee purveyor. Now, Geoffrey and his team are at the vanguard of what many are calling the third wave coffee movement.

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