Cajun Nation is a Louisiana made seasoning blend that is catching fire in the world of flavor. Created by brothers, Alfonzo and Troy Bolden who grew up on a working plantation in the 1970’s, their voyage from sharecropper’s cabin to owning and operating a successful seasoning business makes for quite an amazing tale.
Read MoreChildren's picture books often contain stories that grown ups can benefit from too. That's certainly true of Andrea Wang's new picture book, Watercress, an autobiographical tale of a child of immigrants discovering and connecting with her heritage. With illustrations by Jason Chin, Watercress takes taste memories to new highs and lows as Andrea recalls a moment in her childhood when her family foraged for the perennial plant on the roadsides of her rural Ohio home.
Read MoreFrom beignets to poor boys, gumbo to jambalaya, and crawfish to boudin, Louisiana’s cuisine is as eclectic as it is delectable. On this week’s show, we explore our state’s rich food culture, based on centuries of Creole and Cajun traditions.
Read MoreOne of the hidden gems of St. Tammany Parish is the Tammany Trace. Originally a well-travelled corridor for the Illinois Central Railroad, today the Trace travels 31 miles through five Northshore communities – accessible only by bike or on foot.
Read MoreOn this week's show, we meet some folks who have moved on to new adventures in their lives. We begin with Chef Steve Himelfarb and his wife Becky Retz. In the summer of 2020, they closed their beloved bakery, the Cake Café, after 13 years of business. But this isn't the first major life change for them.
Read MoreOn this week's show, we meet farmers, distillers, and plant breeders who are pioneers in their fields – and celebrate peas on earth. We begin with Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip – a distillery that produces non-alcoholic spirits using peas grown on his 300-year-old family farm in Northern England.
Read MoreHow many varieties of bitters are stocked in your bar? Once upon a time, there were only two choices – our beloved, local Peychaud bitters and Angostura – originally crafted in Angostura, Venezuela. Today, there are literally hundreds of varieties – a dizzying selection to say the least.
Read MoreOn this week’s show, we meet some individuals who are working to tackle the widespread problem of food and water waste. Laid off during the pandemic, hospitality workers Adam Orzechowski and Emily Shoemaker combined a zero-waste commitment with a fermenting obsession that resulted in a new business they aptly named Farm to Funk. Adam and Emily are now bubbling up internationally based concoctions using refuse from local farms that customers are snapping up at pop-up markets across the area.
Read MoreLocated just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, the area widely known as Louisiana's Northshore is a mere 40-minute drive from the French Quarter. As close as the Northshore is geographically, in every other way it is a world apart. Made up of multiple small towns, each with its own identity, St. Tammany Parish is a wonder to wander – which is exactly what we’re doing on this week’s show.
Read MoreIf you’ve ever had an encounter with a celebrity, you know you can dine out on that story for a long time. On this week's show, we hear from notable writers and chefs in their own right, whose brushes with fame come with a host of tales.
Read MoreHere in Louisiana, we have more than our fair share of delectable heritage foods. Many of them are harvested from the wild. On this week's show, we go Down on the Batture with Tulane University environmental professor Oliver Houck. He explains the ecology of this small sliver of land, the bounty of foodstuffs found there, and the opportunities it provides for fringe living.
Read MoreFood is an inspirational muse for artists of all disciplines. On this week's show, we explore the many intersections of food and art from the visual to the written word. We begin with muralist Zac Maras who recently turned the exterior of Toups Meatery on North Carrollton in New Orleans into a riotous celebration of Louisiana foods. The story behind the mural is the subject of a new documentary by filmmakers Jonathan Evans and Marian Gay. Video of the mural being made can be seen on the Louisiana Eats YouTube channel here: Mural.
Read MoreIt’s Mardi Gras season in Louisiana in a year like none other. The coronavirus pandemic brought an abrupt halt to annual balls and parades, and "donning a mask" has taken on a whole new meaning. But that hasn’t stopped revelers from finding safe and innovative ways to celebrate.
Read MoreJust as with everything in this ongoing pandemic, this year’s Covid Carnival is a far cry from anything we've seen in the past. But there is one constant that remains unchanged and that’s our beloved king cake. No balls, no parades but don’t worry – there is more king cake than ever to go around.
Read MoreOne year ago this week, the first case of the coronavirus was confirmed in the United States. In the 12 months since, Covid-19 has devastated communities and economies across the country, and fundamentally altered our lives. Progress is being made on the vaccine front, and there’s a glimmering light at the end of the tunnel. But without a doubt, this has been a difficult year for our collective mental health.
Read MoreIn the tiny town of Madisonville, located on Louisiana’s Northshore, there is a little bakery turning out some of the most perfect French pastries found anywhere on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Christine Schmitz is the owner and baker at Morgan Street Bakery and if you’ve never tasted her king cake – you’ve never lived. It’s well worth a drive across the Causeway, but be forewarned – once you’re there, you just may end up taking home a lot more deliciousness than originally bargained for!
Read MoreThere’s no getting around it. If you want to be a successful chef or bartender, you have to have a consuming passion for food, drink, and hospitality. Especially in New Orleans. But what distinguishes our city from many other dining destinations is the fact that we’re one of the oldest cities in America – with three centuries of history and tales too delicious to believe. On this week’s show, we meet three foodies whose appetite for history is as keen as their love for cooking and cocktails.
Read MoreJohn Kennedy Toole's novel A Confederacy of Dunces is internationally revered for having captured the essence and eccentricity of New Orleans — and for introducing readers to its larger-than-life protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly. On this week's show, we take a culinary look between the pages of the book that, 37 years ago, was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. We begin with Spud McConnell, well known for his portrayal of Ignatius on stage.
Read MoreOn this week’s show, we look at New Orleans’ history through the lens of the city’s material culture. We begin with Jim Bruseth and Toni Turner, who reveals a surprising turn of events that preceded the official founding of New Orleans. Evidently, if the French explorer La Salle hadn’t blundered in his attempt to form a colony here, the city would have celebrated its 300th birthday in 1988 instead of 2018.
Read MoreStick a fork in it! 2020 is done – well done in fact! While this has been a year filled with unparalleled trials and tribulations, there has been much to inspire, uplift, and downright laugh about! On this week's show, we hear from New Orleans activist Devin De Wulf, who inspired his Krewe of Red Beans to make a significant difference in the lives of healthcare workers who put their lives on the line this year for us all.
Read More
