Culinary Gifts from the Heart
The holidays are in high gear; and our senses are now fully awakened to the sounds, smells, scenes, and tastes of the season. Residences are decked out in the holiday spirit—many from roof to lawn—and inside those homes, cooks are preparing their favorite holiday dishes, often looking for new items to add to their culinary repertoires. Inspiration, in the midst of Louisiana’s culinary culture, is not hard to come by.
The very nature of Louisiana’s fertile land and bountiful waters—with its abundant supplies of the best seafood, game, produce, and savory ingredients—is a large part of the story. However, add the area’s multi-faceted history, diverse inhabitants, and shared culture—along with the innovative chefs who work and reside here and cherish its natural resources—and, well, you have an epic volume.
New Orleans is revered around the globe as a top dining and travel destination. When the city’s esteemed chefs author books or a collection of their recipes is published—and it’s gift-giving season—that’s reason enough to spread the local gourmet gospel. Here are a few of my recommendations.
Cooking from the Heart
by Chef John Besh
Among the handful of notable, locally themed or authored cookbooks this year is Top Chef John Besh’s third volume, Cooking from the Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way.
Cooking From the Heart is both an homage to Besh’s European-born mentors and the story of a young chef’s maturation in his craft through hard work and the many humbling fumbles along the way. Twenty years later, the inspiration and passion derived from these experiences still beats in Besh’s heart.
A 1992 Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate, Besh accepted an apprenticeship with third-generation, chef-owner Karl-Josef Fuchs at Spielweg, a Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel in Germany’s Black Forest. Newly married, his wife Jenifer joined him on the culinary adventure.
During that year abroad, Besh noted, “Chef Fuchs taught me many life lessons as well as schooling me in culinary matters.”
At Spielweg, Besh said, they practiced the idea of localism— using products and ingredients grown locally: “Although it was going on along the U.S. east and west coasts, and we had the historic French Market here [in New Orleans], we didn’t have the farmers markets in New Orleans then that we have today.”
“That involvement reaffirmed the local, sustaining nature of the food culture in every European community and taught me all about what I can do for myself,” he continued. “These experiences stripped away layers and layers of my thinking, providing great lessons and putting matters in perspective for me. True chefs understand that it’s all about the food and whom you are cooking for.”
Besh returned to Louisiana and worked for his second great mentor, La Provence chef-owner Chris Kerageorgiou, in Lacombe. Although Besh thought he knew something about French cooking, the tempestuous chef—who Besh said often praised and criticized him in the same breath—sent Besh to his home in France to learn Provençal cooking.
Chef Chris also directed Besh to Rudy and Anne Bauer’s lavish guest quarters at the Chateau de Montcaud north of Avignon where Besh cooked New Orleans-style jazz brunches on the weekends.
One little restaurant that Besh frequented in the village of St. Rémy-de-Provence intrigued him so much, he asked the chef-owner, Alain Assaud, to show him how to make bouillabaisse. The two became fast friends and another mentor came into Besh’s life.
These stints with European chefs “were the most important and formative years of my professional life,” Besh said.
When the book idea came up, a nostalgic journey to the places and the people that nurtured and taught Besh so many valuable lessons was planned. Along with new photos and step-by-step instruction on many recipes, the pages are scattered with photos from John and Jenifer’s many return visits over the years.
Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans
by Lolis Eric Elie
Treme, the critically acclaimed HBO series that focuses on life in New Orleans’ post-Hurricane Katrina/levee breaks, showcases the city’s celebrated cuisine almost as much as its legendary music. Now a cookbook is available to support the spread of the area’s cuisine: Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans.
Author Lolis Eric Elie, who also serves as Treme’s story editor and staff writer, said the decision to produce the book was made between the first and second seasons.
One of the show’s main characters, Janette Desautel (played by actress Kim Dickens) portrays a chef; and a host of real-life chefs have appeared on the program in addition to contributing to the book, many providing recipes for which they were not acknowledged.
“The characters and the food are intermingled,” said Elie, “and so much of the show is a seamless mixture of fact and fiction.
“For the book, we wanted to provide more character background to unearth more of the culture and history, but without giving away any story points.
“Using the characters was a way of giving voice to people that I’ve known over the years and had conversations with. It’s a way for the characters to expound on their backgrounds and heritage.”
As the story editor, Elie said he has been “writing these characters’ lines for several seasons, so I know them. It was just another step in the process to extend their stories.”
Elie notes that he was a food writer before becoming a television writer—he previously authored Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country.
Unidentified culinary contributors to the book were Bayona’s Susan Spicer, who was a show consultant; Zoe Davies, Eric Ripert’s sous chef from Le Bernadin; Jacqueline Blanchard, the former sous chef at August; Elie’s mother, who provided her special gumbo recipe; and New Orleans’ author/broadcaster Poppy Tooker.
Although the series has just debuted its shortened, fourth and final season, the book will give Treme fans and New Orleans’ cuisine and culture buffs plenty of good recipes, reading, and referencing for many years to come.
Louisiana Eats
by Poppy Tooker
Poppy Tooker—local author, food historian, guest on many national TV programs, and regular on WYES-TV’s show Steppin’ Out—has published Louisiana Eats, the eponymous title of her WWNO FM radio show. “This book is really a lifetime in the making,” said Tooker. “I finally had the opportunity to find my voice on [the show] Louisiana Eats.” (louisianaeatsradio.com.).
In the book, Tooker recounts some of the most interesting interviews and conversations from her radio show, adding recipes at the end of each chapter.
Tooker also explained that she wanted readers and listeners to understand that her book is not a cookbook per se, but a living history of much of the area’s foodways, traditions, and history.
Though she’d made multiple national television appearances, Tooker recently realized that, “I had been given a chance to share this important oral history about my food heroes, both celebrated and previously unknown.”
Tooker, a passionate food traditionalist and ‘hero’ herself, with awards for preserving the community’s local food, values the radio show for the archival purpose it serves. “This creates a permanent record for people to refer to and listen to over time,” she said.
The Pot and the Palate Cookbook
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA), in partnership with the Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA) Educational Foundation, got into the act with a winsome collection of statewide chefs’ recipes called The Pot and the Palate Cookbook.
The cookbook, with a forward by Emeril Lagasse, showcases one hundred recipes from many of the state’s top talents with recipes by Emeril himself, John Folse and Rick Tramonto, Donald Link, Tory McPhail, Paul Prudhomme, John Besh, Susan Spicer, Leah Chase, Frank Brigtsen, Michael Sichel, Peter Sclafani, Morgan Angelle, Nathaniel Zimet, Jeremy Langlois, and many others.
The state’s culinary heritage is depicted in fifty original artworks selected from statewide student submissions to the George Rodrigue Foundation’s annual visual arts competition. The Foundation awarded $45,000 in college scholarships this year. All proceeds from cookbook sales will benefit the Rodrigue Foundation and the LRA’s Educational Foundation.
Details. Details. Details.
Cooking From the Heart: My Favorite Lessons Learned Along the Way
by John Besh, Hardcover: 320 pages, Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 2013)
Sample recipes: Paillettes; Black or Green Olive Tapenade, Duck Confit; Basic Fond de Veau; Ragout of Lamb Shoulder with Cavatelli; Côte de Boeuf with Red Wine and Porcini Mushrooms
Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans
by Lolis Eric Elie (Author), Ed Anderson (Photographer), Hardcover: 240 pages, Publisher: Chronicle Books (July 2013)
Sample recipes: Pasta with shrimp, garlic, and parsley; Stuffed Mirliton; Oysters on the Half-Shell with Yuzu Mignonette; Creole Succotash
Louisiana Eats: The People, the Food and Their Stories
by Poppy Tooker, Hardcover: 136 pages, Pelican Publishing (September 2013)
Sample recipes: Roasted Okra, Poppy's Seafood Gumbo
The Pot & the Palate Cookbook
by George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts and Louisiana Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, Hardcover: 192 pages, Publisher: QuaLibre, Inc. (October 2013)
Sample Recipes: Crawfish Mac & Cheese, Veal Grillades & Grits, Prejean's Bread Pudding, Crabmeat Maison