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 in January at a gala celebration at The Four Seasons Hotel.
Read MoreCommander's Palace has been a New Orleans culinary landmark since it first opened in the city's Garden District in 1893. Once Ella Brennan and her family took It over in the 1970s, it became an international sensation, elevating Louisiana cuisine and launching the careers of chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. On this week's show, we celebrate 130 years of Commander's Palace by dipping into our archives to bring you Commander's stories past and present.
Read MoreMany chefs spend their entire careers content to run a single restaurant. But others have a different vision – one that encompasses multiple locations or even various kinds of eateries. This week, we take a look at three such New Orleans restaurateurs and find out how they've gone about building their culinary empires.
Read MoreBarely thirty minutes northeast of New Orleans, you'll find a thriving, world class culinary scene in Slidell, Louisiana. For over 20 years now, Duffy Ramirez has paved the fine dining path at Palmettos on the Bayou. Beginning with a century-old homestead, Duffy expanded and grew his restaurant from the original 40 seats to today's capacity for up to 400 without ever losing the intimate feel of Palmettos' original cottage. When executive chef Ross Dover took the reins in Palmettos' kitchen, the operation took a serious step up. We sat down in the restaurant's dining room for two conversations: first with Chef Ross and then with Duffy to learn more about the special spot along the bayou.
Read MoreFine china and crystal, earthenware and artisan glassware – it doesn’t matter what you have – it can all be transformed into a personal expression of your welcoming hospitality. On this week's show, we speak with some of the nation's finest tableware experts for an education and some inspiration.
Read MoreAlcohol 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.
Read MoreEvery year, thousands of tourists touch down at New Orleans' Louis Armstrong airport expecting to partake in an unforgettable culinary experience. With no shortage of places to drink and dine, the first question visitors often ask is: "Where do locals go?" On this week's show, we explore neighborhood spots that have a strong local following in the Crescent City.
Read MoreThe restaurant landscape in America is rapidly changing. The pandemic gave a lot of people time to rethink, retool, and redo the way the industry works. On this week's show, we speak with young chefs and restaurateurs who are changing the rules and reshaping culinary culture.
Read MoreEach July, Tales of the Cocktail draws tipplers from across the globe to New Orleans for a week-long celebration of cocktails and mixology. On this week's show, we get into the spirit of the event with world-renowned cocktailians who have made a big splash in the cocktail world.
Read MorePeanut butter and jelly. Onions, bell peppers, and celery. The food world is filled with dynamic duos and terrific trios. On this week's show, we meet spouses, siblings, and close friends whose bonds have been deeped by their love of food, drink, and music.
We begin with the popular New Orleans pop-up Chance in Hell Snoballs where owners Kitten N' Lou craft all their flavors with local ingredients and combinations you may have never heard of before. When they're not making snoballs, the married couple are drag and cabaret performers, gracing the world's stages with their popular burlesque shows. So how did they come to start a snoball stand on their Bywater porch? Kitten N' Lou tell us the story.
Read MoreNew Orleans is a melting pot of cultures, music, and – of course – food. On this week's show, we explore some international flavors found in our own backyard.
We begin with Merritt Coscia and Tyler Stuart of Plume Algiers. Although neither of the American-born-and-bred pair have any Indian heritage in their backgrounds, they became captivated by the culture and flavors of India when traveling across the subcontinent. The couple's passion for regional Indian cuisine is on display at their restaurant Plume Algiers on New Orleans' Westbank. Merritt and Tyler join us in the studio to talk about their restaurant and the travels that inspired it.
Read MoreOn this week's show, we look at agriculture and innovation in our state and beyond. We begin with New Orleans' native son Richard McCarthy, founder of the Crescent City Farmers Market and former executive director of Slow Food USA. The activist recently published a book entitled, Kuni: A Japanese Vision and Practice for Urban-Rural Reconnection. Richard shares the revolutionary ideas and practices his co-author Tsuyoshi Sekihara is using to save rural areas that were abandoned in postwar Japan.
Read MoreNew Orleanians have always loved to cook and to share what they've made with others. So it makes sense that as soon as there was television, there was a Crescent City chef on the screen spreading the good news of New Orleans food. The first was an African American cooking star named Lena Richard, who made her TV debut on WDSU-TV in 1949. Fast forward to today, and it’s tough to tune in to any cooking show and not see a familiar face. This week, three local chefs walk us through the fun and the frenzy of their television encounters.
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 MoreSince 2021, June 19th – or Juneteenth as it's popularly known – has been a federal holiday commemorating the end of enslavement in the United States. On this week's show, we celebrate the day with a trio of African American chefs who discuss the inspiration they draw from their spiritual ancestors.
Read MoreFrom the front of the house to the back, across Louisiana and the entire country, there is a substance abuse problem in bars and restaurants. On this week's show, we speak with Will Arendell, a renowned substance abuse counselor, who demystifies the psychology and physiology of addiction.
We then meet ice cream savant Sam Caruso and baker Martha Gilreath – two New Orleanians who overcame addiction and a host of challenges to find a sweeter life for themselves.
Read MoreOn 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.
Read MoreWhether it's the most elegant wedding reception or a simple family birthday party, no celebration is complete without a cake. On this week's show, we explore this delicious dessert in all its glory.
Read MoreIn many places, the cocktail hour is an honored – even sacred – tradition. And in few places is that more true than New Orleans. On this week's show, we explore the fascinating evolution of cocktail culture in the Big Easy – its past, present and future.
We begin with craft cocktail master Neal Bodenheimer. Neal, who opened Freret Street bar Cure in 2009, traces the city's long love affair with concocted libations in his James Beard-nominated book, Cure: New Orleans Drinks And How To Mix 'Em.
Read MoreIn 1941, Emily and Dooky Chase, Sr. opened Dooky Chase Restaurant, a sandwich shop on Orleans Avenue in New Orleans. Five years later, a young girl from Madisonville, Louisiana married Emily and Dooky's son, big band leader Edgar "Dooky" Chase, Jr. Under Leah's leadership, the simple shop grew into one of the first African American fine dining restaurants in the country – the place where Leah Chase established herself as the Queen of Creole Cuisine. Since her passing in 2019, Leah's legacy lies in the hands of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. On this week's show, we hear not only those young, ambitious voices, but we've dug into our archives to bring you material that never previously aired from the late, great Leah herself.
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