Poppy Tooker

The elves are busy in Santa's workshop at this time of year! So as we head into the big holiday gift-giving time, Louisiana Eats is talking with some home-grown, Louisiana elves for delicious inspiration. We speak with Jady Regard, Chief Nut Officer of Cane River Pecan Company, visit New Orleans chocolatier Christopher Nobles of Piety and Desire Chocolate, and celebrate 40 years of Orleans Coffee with Bob Arceneaux.

In our increasingly fast-paced world, traditional foods and foodways often have trouble competing with speed and convenience. But never fear. All over the planet there are people working to save the superior flavor, nutrition, and cultural significance of heritage foods. On this week's show, we introduce you to some of our greatest heritage food warriors. Guests include Sarah Lohman, Casey Corn. and members of Slow Food USA.

Who taught you how to cook? Perhaps it was a favorite family member or Julia Child on public television. Maybe you devour cookbooks on the weekend just for fun. The education of a professional chef can be just varied – be it a formal degree or on-the-job training. On this week's show, we explore culinary learning. We visit the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and speak with educators Dee Lavigne and Anne Willan.

As we creep closer to October 31, Louisiana Eats is getting into the spooky spirit with our annual Halloween episode. This year, we've cooked up some pretty delicious and unsettling tales for you! Guests include culinary historian Sarah Lohman, who travels back in time to share the earliest food traditions surrounding death, and bartenders Kelsey Ramage and Erin Hayes, who discuss their Halloween-themed pop-up bar experience called Black Lagoon.

The way we eat and talk about food is linked to our individual and collective identities. On this week's show, we look at the origins of some of our favorite foods and common misconceptions about them. We speak with journalist and food historian Lolis Eric Elie, author Anya von Bremzen, and playwright and stage director Eva Doumbia.

Less than an hour's drive from New Orleans' French Quarter, Baton Rouge, and Mississippi's Gulf Coast is Lake Pontchartrain's Northshore. The charming towns of Madisonville, Mandeville, and Abita Springs are filled with hospitality and delicious dining opportunities. On this week's show, we cross the Causeway to visit our Northshore neighbors. We bring you an oral history of the Covington Farmers Market, meet Torre and David Solazzo of Covington's Del Porto Ristorante and the Greyhound, and visit Backwater Farmstead in Bush, Louisiana.

There's a mouthful of memories in every family – especially if your family is in the food biz! On this week's show, we hear from New Orleanians whose parents and grandparents gave them a passion for food and a love for their community.

Businesses open. Businesses close. But some businesses manage to recover from calamities of biblical proportions. On this week's show, we learn what it takes to rebuild a beloved brand after a long hiatus. We speak with Drew Ramsey, whose family has run Hubig's, makers of New Orleans' favorite hand pies for three generations. Then, we hear from both Vance and Julia Vaucresson about the revival of their third-generation sausage company.

In today’s society, meat often gets a bad rap. But this week, we speak with three people who find great beauty in the art of the butcher, the finger-licking taste of barbecue, and even the usefulness of wild hogs. Chef Matt Moore chats about his latest cookbook, Butcher on the Block. And Pitmaster Ryan Mitchell, son of barbecue legend Ed Mitchell, joins us to discuss the nearly forgotten craft of whole-hog barbecue and his family’s barbecue legacy.

Commander'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. We begin with the restaurant's Executive Chef Meg Bickford, the first female in 127 years to burst through the gender barrier and command the historic kitchen. We also hear from co-proprietors Lally Brennan and Ti Martin, before Dickie Brennan shares his memories of the restaurant's earliest days.