Jackie Blanchard

Japan may once have seemed like a world away, but the most delicious elements of Japanese food and drink culture have become increasingly embedded in our American psyche. On this week's show, we celebrate the complexity and craftsmanship of Japanese drinking culture.

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.We also speak with Vishwish Bhatt of Snackbar in Oxford, Mississippi and Jacqueline Blanchard of Sukeban in New Orleans.

On this week's show, we meet the great Dario Cecchini, a world renowned Italian butcher. Dickie Brennan invited the Cecchini family to New Orleans earlier…