Joe Baum was considered by many to be the greatest restaurateur of the last century. Before he died in 1998 at the age of 78, Joe had created no fewer than 50 restaurants. He’s responsible for creating America's first themed restaurants like the Four Seasons in New York's Seagram Building, Windows on the World in the World in the World Trade Center, and the restored Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center. On this week's show, we pay tribute to the great Joe Baum by speaking with three people who knew him well: Charlie Baum, Dale DeGroff, and Melanie Young. Legendary bartender Dale DeGroff was a struggling actor living in New York in the 1970s when he first came across Joe Baum, eventually working for him at Aurora, and famously, the Rainbow Room. Charlie Baum, Joe's son, grew up immersed in the hospitality industry, but didn't make a career of it until he was older. Charlie eventually was hired by his father to serve as general manager of the Rainbow Room and became a partner in the Windows on the World restaurant. The two of them join us for a wide-ranging conversation about the impact Joe had on their lives, as well as the world of hospitality. For twenty years, Melanie Young ran the powerhouse P.R. agency M. Young Communications. She was also instrumental in the creation of the James Beard Foundation Awards as well as New York Restaurant Week. These days, Melanie spends her time leading the Connected Table media company and hosting the podcast The Connected Table, which highlights the chefs, farmers, vintners, and authors who shape the food and beverage industry. But it was during her M. Young Communications days that Melanie worked closely with Joe Baum, right at the time he was setting the culinary world on fire. She sits down with us in the studio to recall those heady days. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Halloween is once again upon us, which means it's time to indulge our fascination with the mysterious, the macabre, and the world beyond the grave! On this week's show, we delve into the stories, traditions, and history that give Louisiana its enduring interest in the supernatural. We begin with our old friend Sally Asher of Red Sash Tours, who on Halloweens past has taken us on special tours of three New Orleans cemeteries. Sally joins us in our studio to share what she discovered while researching her new book, Flaming Hearts and Weeping Angels: Secrets and Symbols in New Orleans Cemeteries. Sally also tells us about her new nonprofit, Tomb Do You Love, which works to restore historic tombs in the Crescent City. Then, we explore the curious history of spiritualism in America with Dr. George Schwartz of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. He talks about the spiritualist movement's surprising ties to New Orleans, its role in empowering women and abolitionists, and what all of this has to do with the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's death this Halloween. Finally, we meet Rosie Grant, who stumbled upon a curious discovery: recipes carved into gravestones. Her book, To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes, brings these recipes together, along with the stories of the people who chose to preserve them in stone. It's a book about food, but it's really about memory – the meals that define us, and how we carry the people we've lost into our kitchens, long after they're gone. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Flour, butter, yeast, and sugar are all simple ingredients, but together they can produce extraordinary things. This week, we look at baking from the neighborhood bakery to the home kitchen. First, we catch up with Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss, whose Ayu Bakehouse in New Orleans continues to earn both local and national accolades. The duo has come a long way since we first met them in 2022. We get an update and take a closer look at the delights they are serving up daily in the city's Marigny neighborhood. Then we learn about a popular bakery just down the road, and its owner who has helped shape the baking scene in the Big Easy in over 20 years. Bywater Bakery's Chaya Conrad joins us for a conversation about her career and how she came to invent the New Orleans dessert staple: the Chantilly Cake. Chaya also shares some of the ingredients behind her bakery's offerings, before food writer Anne Byrn explains why choosing the right flour matters. Finally, we meet baker and author Heidrun Metzler, who grew up in a family of German women with a passion for baking. In her debut book, German Heritage Baking, she celebrates recipes shaped by memory, family, and a culture where baking is woven into everyday life. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Food can tell us a lot about where we come from – and sometimes, about how we misunderstand one another. On this week's show, we look at what happens when food crosses borders, cultures, and identities. We begin with Anna Sulan Masing, a writer, poet, and academic whose work explores food, culture, and identity. Based in London, Anna comes from a family whose story crosses continents and cultures. She was born in Australia to an indigenous Iban father from Borneo and a New Zealander mother of predominantly Scottish heritage. Her debut book, Chinese and Any Other Asian, considers how mixed identities are shaped – and often distorted – by language, stereotypes, and cultural appropriation. Anna joins us to discuss her family's remarkable story and what food and restaurants can reveal about how we understand other cultures. Then, we look at what happens when a cuisine takes root somewhere new. We meet Chef David Schuttenberg, co-owner of two Chinese restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina: Kwei Fei focuses on Sichuan cooking, and Beautiful South showcases the cooking of Southern China. David talks to us about learning a cuisine from the outside, staying true to its traditions, and adapting those traditions to a new place. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in America, but its acclaimed cuisine is hardly stuck in the past. Today, the local food scene is bolder, more diverse, and more inventive than ever. That’s what food writer Beth D'Addono discovered when researching her latest publication, "City Eats: New Orleans." Offering an extensive overview of the local restaurant landscape, the book also provides over 50 recipes from the Big Easy's top chefs. Beth joins us to discuss this talented new guard of chefs and restaurateurs – many who found their footing during the pandemic. Then, we dig into two restaurants featured in Beth’s book. From Addis NOLA, we hear from Dr. Biruk Alemayehu and Prince Lobo, the mother-and-son team bringing their authentic Ethiopian dining experience to historic Bayou Road. That includes injera bread and honey wine that have been served in the Horn of Africa for thousands of years. Finally, we take a field trip to the kitchen of GW Fins, an upscale seafood restaurant in the French Quarter, where we learn about Chef Michael Nelson's innovative work with dry-aging fish. The result is an elevated dish that is denser, more tender, and more flavorful. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Food has a way of carrying a place with it. A recipe can preserve a memory. A bottle of wine can carry a taste of home across an ocean. This week, we explore the food of the eastern Mediterranean – from Cyprus and Greece to Lebanon – and the stories that come with it. First, we speak with Anissa Helou, author of Lebanon: Cooking the Foods of My Homeland. Anissa tells us about the cuisine she grew up with in Beirut – much of which sounds surprisingly familiar to the food traditions of Louisiana. Now based in Sicily, she has continued to write to preserve these culinary traditions and knowledge for future generations. Next, we hear from first-generation Greek-American writer and comedian Gus Constantellis. When Gus unexpectedly lost his mom to a sudden stroke in 2023, he began writing down his memories of her and the recipes she made for their family. The result was a deeply personal and humorous tribute to his mother called My Greek Mom's Recipes: She Died. I Wrote This Cookbook. Finally, we speak with Ari Kyriakides, a Cyprus native who has called New Orleans home for decades. Ari's the owner of Ambeli Wine Imports and Distribution, a Louisiana company he created to make Cypriot wine widely available in the U.S. He tells us how he's working to put Cyprus on the map one bottle at a time. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.