Ralph Brennan

This week, Louisiana Eats takes you to the Williams Research Center for the Historic New Orleans Collection's 2024 Food Forum, where host Poppy Tooker moderated a panel discussion that delved into the fascinating stories of three of the city's most enduring restaurants – all family-owned and -operated for generations.On the panel was Lisa Blount, representing Antoine's, the longest continuously operating family-owned restaurant in the nation. Lisa is marketing and menu development director of the 185-year-old eatery, as well as the wife of fifth-generation proprietor, Rick Blount. She tells us about the women and men who kept the business in operation through several generations and what she is doing now to preserve their legacy.Also part of the discussion was Ralph Brennan, third-generation owner of the French Quarter institution, Brennan's, as well as four other restaurants. Ralph explains what inspired him to keep Brennan's in business when it was on the verge of closing. He also describes the circumstances that led him to take over The Napoleon House, an even older restaurant institution in the Vieux Carré. While he made some necessary updates to the building, they were designed not to be seen by a customer base who would have balked at the idea of the restaurant changing in the slightest.Rounding out the panel was Executive Chef Edgar "Dook" Chase, IV, who carries on the legacy of his grandmother Chef Leah Chase, as the fourth-generation proprietor of the over 80-year-old Dooky Chase Restaurant. He tells us about how he's keeping his family's legacy alive while giving newer generations an opportunity to move forward.For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Brennan's Restaurant on Royal Street is grander than ever – all thanks to the loving care of founder Owen Brennan's nephew, Ralph Brennan. Named one of the 20 most influential restaurant people in the country by Restaurant Business Magazine, Ralph runs some of the city's finest dining destinations. On this week's show, we sit down with Ralph Brennan himself to discuss his life in food.

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.And if you live in the Crescent City – you may know a Brennan of your own. The restaurant dynasty that began with patriarch Owen Brennan in 1943 has grown to include a fourth generation. We sit down with the whole Brennan clan for a glimpse of what New Orleans’ culinary future looks like.

Between 1880 and 1920 over four million Italians immigrated to the U.S., with the majority of Sicilians coming through the port of New Orleans. Their influence here can be found in the food and in the language where special words like niespuli and cucuzza proliferate. On this week's show, we survey those Sicilian connections to learn new things about this place we call home.We begin with Elisa Speranza, author of "The Italian Prisoner." Elisa was inspired to write her debut novel after hearing stories of Italian POWs housed in New Orleans during World War II. After Italy switched sides in 1943, these former enemies became part of the American war effort and the city's make up.Then, Liz Williams joins us with memories of her Sicilian grandmother, Nana Elisabetta, who arrived in the Crescent City at the age of 18. Her new book, "Nana’s Creole Italian Table," is filled with recipes and family lore.Then, we hear from New Orleans food historian Laura Guccione, whose family hails from Alia, Sicily. With her background in botany, Laura has long been fascinated by a local fruit tree, often referred to as the Japanese plum, which proliferates wildly on the island of Sicily. Her linguistic look at the fruit can be found on New Orleans Historical. Finally, we sit down with Sal Impastato of the renowned Napoleon House clan. Sal tells us the story of the business that was family-owned and -operated for almost a century, before he handed over the keys to Ralph Brennan in 2015.For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

When it comes to sharing our authentic food culture, there is no family as influential over time as the Brennans of New Orleans. Almost 80 years ago, Owen Brennan got the party started at the Old Absinthe House. Since that time, the family has grown and prospered, giving us all a wonderful time along the way.On this week's show, we sit down for the first time with the fourth generation of one of America's premiere food families. We hear from Ralph Brennan's kids Kathryn Brennan McLeod and her brother Patrick, Dickie Brennan's daughter Sarah and his nephew (Lauren Brennan's son) Geordie Brower, and the cousin who is guaranteed to spice things up, president of Baumer Foods, Inc., Pepper Baumer.

Since Ralph Brennan and Terry White reopened the venerable Brennan's Restaurant in 2014, they've initiated some new traditions, like champagne sabering in…

It’s that haunting time of year again, when pumpkins glow and black cats screech, and you can be guaranteed we’re ghost hunting on this week’s show! To…

Boasting its iconic pink facade in the French Quarter Brennan's Restaurant has been a New Orleans landmark since 1946. On this week's show, we celebrate…

On this week’s show, we’re looking at the role economics plays in running a flourishing food and beverage operation. We begin with hospitality tech…