Louisiana Eats - Poppy Tooker

Posts in Food

Altars, Beans & Cuccidati

Altars, Beans & Cuccidati

March 19th might be just another day in other parts of the United States, but here in New Orleans it's a day when revelers take to the streets in honor of the Feast of St. Joseph. The tradition of food altars dedicated to Jesus' foster father came to the Crescent City in the late 1800s with immigrants from Sicily, where Joseph is the patron saint. What was called Mi-Carême (or Mid-Lent by the Creoles) was a day when fasting was suspended and festivities abounded. On this week's show, we explore the holiday and join in on the celebration.

Finding Cultural Identity At The Table

Finding Cultural Identity At The Table

On this week's show, we explore the ways culture and identity can collide at the table. We begin the hour with a conversation with Andrea Wang, author of the award-winning picture book, Watercress. With illustrations by Jason Chin, Andrea's book is an autobiographical tale of a child of Chinese immigrants discovering and connecting with her heritage.

Food, Drink, Dining, CookbooksPoppy TookerMarch 10, 2023Andrea Wang, Watercress, Jason Chin, Christina Quackenbush, Milkfish, The New Filipino Kitchen, Ozgur Duman, Bulent Duman, Mandeville, Duman Artisan KitchenComment

100 Years Of Camellia Beans

Ask any New Orleanian what they eat on Mondays, and you'll likely get the same reply: "red beans and rice." For 100 years now, that humble bean has been practically synonymous with Camellia Brand. Lucius Hayward founded Camellia in the Crescent City in 1923, naming the company for his wife's favorite flower. Over the last century, generations of New Orleanians have showered much love and devotion on that dried kidney bean, but as you'll learn on this week's show, it has been far from a one-sided love affair.

Food, DiningPoppy TookerMarch 4, 2023Poppy Tooker, Louisiana Eats!, Camellia Beans, Camellia Brand, Vince Hayward, Second Harvest Food Bank, Natalie Jayroe, Jamie Warrick, Chris Lusk, Antoine’sComment

Where Are You From?

Where Are You From?

Where are you from? While what we eat may reveal our origins, it can also reflect our life's travels from one home to another. Chef Anh Luu was born in New Orleans to parents who emigrated to the United States from Vietnam. She discovered her love of restaurants at the age of 15 when she first began working the line. When Katrina blew Anh and her family to Portland, Oregon, she became a pioneer of Viet-Cajun cuisine – an amalgamation of her Vietnamese and Louisiana heritage. She's now back in New Orleans, serving up her signature dishes at Bywater Brew Pub.

Food, Drink, Dining, CookbooksPoppy TookerFebruary 24, 2023Poppy Tooker, Chef Anh Luu, New Orleans, Vietnam, Viet-Cajun cuisine, Bywater Brew Pub, Vishwesh Bhatt, I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes from a Southern Chef, Chef Jacqueline Blanchard, Sukeban, Anh Luu, Jacqueline BlanchardComment

...And More King Cake

...And More King Cake

On this week's show, we continue our exploration of all things king cake. Throughout Carnival season, local bakers are hard at work creating their own spin on the treat – one that can make or break their year. When Steve Himelfarb and his wife Becky Retz opened Cake Café, they set out to develop their own signature cake – a delicious combo of apple and goat cheese that has outlasted the bakery itself. We catch up with Steve at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) where his king cake has become an annual fundraising tradition.

Food, Dining, Drink, CookbooksPoppy TookerFebruary 18, 2023Louisiana Eats, Poppy tooker, Steve Himelfarb, NOCCA, Matt Haines, The Big Book Of King Cake, Dominique Rizzo, Celtica Bakery, king cake, Sally Asher, Melissa Vandiver, The Mermaids of New OrleansComment

Carnival Means King Cake

Carnival Means King Cake

From Twelfth Night though Mardi Gras Day, king cake becomes somewhat of a local obsession here in Louisiana. And over the last few years, it seems like the Carnival treat is simply on steroids! Across the state, bakers have expanded the design from the original brioche dough ring decorated with purple, green, and gold sugar to create cakes featuring every kind of filling – both sweet and savory. No one knows more about king cake than Matt Haines, author of "The Big Book of King Cake." Matt uncovered amazing historical facts and chronicled the lives and cakes of 75 bakers while writing his coffee table tome.

Cookbooks, Dining, Drink, FoodPoppy TookerFebruary 10, 2023Poppy Tooker, Matt Haines, Martha Gilreath, Louisiana Eats, The Big Book of King Cake, Patrick Bordnick, NolitaComment

Recipes Lost And Found

Recipes Lost And Found

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 $250,000 to benefit the same museum that brought them together.

Cookbooks, Dining, Drink, FoodPoppy TookerFebruary 4, 2023Comment

The Culinarily Curious

The Culinarily Curious

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. Melissa joins us, as does Vicky Bennison, the creator of the YouTube sensation, Pasta Grannies.

Dining, Drink, Food, CookbooksPoppy TookerJanuary 28, 2023Poppy Tooker, Louisiana Eats, Melissa Clark, Dinner In One, Vicky Bennison, Pasta Grannies, Emmanuel Laroche, Conversations Behind The Kitchen Door, Marti Buckley, Basque CountryComment

Ella Brennan Award Winners

Ella Brennan Award Winners

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. 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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerJanuary 21, 2023Louisiana Eats!, Poppy tooker, Susan Spicer, Bayona, Rosedale, Frank Brigtsen, Brigtsen's, New Orleans Wine & Food Experience, Ella Brennan, Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement AwardComment

Behind The Rolling Pin

Behind The Rolling Pin

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.

Food, DiningPoppy TookerJanuary 14, 2023Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Bronwen Wyatt, Bayou St. Cake, Kelly Jacques, Samantha Weiss, Ayu Bakehouse, Jacquy Pfeiffer, The French Pastry School, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris HegedusComment

Leah Chase: A Centennial Celebration

Leah Chase: A Centennial Celebration

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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerJanuary 7, 2023Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Leah Chase, Dooky Chase, Mitch Landrieu, Mark Cave, Historic New Orleans Collection, Edgar "Dooky" Chase, James Beard FoundationComment

Louisiana Eats! 2022 Year In Review

Louisiana Eats! 2022 Year In Review

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. 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. 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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerDecember 31, 2022Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Kenneth Holditch, Tennessee Williams, Today Show, Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, Vue Orleans, Jack Sweeney, Big Okra, Guinness World Records, Year In Review, 2022Comment

Historical Eats

Historical Eats

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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerDecember 24, 2022Louisiana Eats!, Antoine's, The Mandarin, Howard Johnson's, Paul Freedman, Ten Restaurants That Changed America, Jim Heimann, TASCHEN America, Menu Design in America, David Cappello, John G. Schwegmann, Poppy TookerComment

The Chase And Brennan Family Legacies

The Chase And Brennan Family Legacies

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.

A Very Merry Zero-Proof Holiday

A Very Merry Zero-Proof Holiday

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.

Food, Drink, Dining, SciencePoppy TookerDecember 10, 2022Dr. David Walllace, Dream House Lounge, Ben's Friends, Ben Murray, Mickey Bakst, Steve Palmer, Hailey Hosler, Molly Kimball, Melanie Warner Spencer, Drink Fit ClubComment

The Apothecary Around The Corner

The Apothecary Around The Corner

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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerDecember 3, 2022Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Camper English, Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails, Noah Rothbaum, Darcy O'Neil, Stephanie Haeberlin, Art FarmComment

Warming Hearts and Homes

Warming Hearts and Homes

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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerNovember 26, 2022Beau Ciolino, Matt Armato, Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Probably This, Housewarming: A Guide to Creating a Home You Adore, Brian Theis, The Infinite Feast, Phillip Lopez, JoAnn Clevenger, Williams Residence, Historic New Orleans Collection, Lydia BlackmoreComment

Turkey Time On Louisiana Eats!

Turkey Time On Louisiana Eats!

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.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerNovember 19, 2022Kevin Belton, Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Sarah Thomas Belton, Sara Roahen, Gumbo Tales, Chef Paul Prudhomme, Madeleine Wright, River Road Recipes, Kate McDermott, Piechiatrist, The Art of The PieComment

Tastemaking Legends

Tastemaking Legends

On this week's show, we explore the lives of New Orleans tastemaking legends and meet the next generation who are following in their footsteps. We begin with Al Copeland Jr., who recently memorialized his famous Popeyes-founding father in a book entitled Secrets of a Tastemaker. Written by Chris Rose, Kit Wohl, and the Copeland family, the book shares Al's life story – from his humble beginnings and through its highs and lows.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerNovember 12, 2022Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Al Copeland Jr, Popeyes, Secrets of a Tastemaker, Chris Rose, Kit Wohl, Chef Warren Leruth, Green Goddess, Baumer Foods, Al Baumer Jr., Pepper BaumerComment

Northshore Road Trip

Northshore Road Trip

On this week's show, we’re trekking across the Causeway once again to explore the culinary scene in St. Tammany Parish. We begin at Backwater Farmstead in the rural town of Bush, Louisiana. There, Ross McKnight and his family make foie gras, a luxury food they hope to make more accessible in our state.

Food, Drink, DiningPoppy TookerNovember 5, 2022Backwater Farmstead, Jeremy Reilly, Alyssa Reilly, Louisiana Eats, Poppy Tooker, Restaurant Cote, The Maple Room, Nick Asprodities, The Blue Crab Restaurant, Chef Jeff Mattia, Pyre Provisions, Pyre BBQComment