It's New Orleans: Midnight Menu +1

Like many New Orleans kids, Colin Provensal was hanging out in bars way too young. In Colin s case, 7. And he was playing piano. By 13 he had a regular Saturday night piano gig in a restaurant on the Orleans Jefferson parish line at the beginning of Veterans Boulevard. At 14 he was working in his first restaurant, dropped out of high school, and he s been in the food biz ever since. Colin s current gig is a breakfast pop up in a restaurant that, depending on when you read this, is either still called Dis n Dat or its new name Dis n Dem. The difference between Dat n Dem is more significant than it may appear but it all began, as Colin remembers, "when we were a bunch of stoned college kids slinging weiners." Colin s breakfast pop up is everything you could ever want traditional New Orleans food with a gourmet twist, cheap under 10 and complete with signature bloody marys. Somewhere along the line Colin moved to Austin for a girl which didn t work out romantically but it did work out culinarily in as much as Co

If you shop at a New Orleans Sam s Club pretty much any weekend you ll see a guy or a girl stirring a giant pot of jambalaya. The girl wearing yellow plastic fork earrings is Jambalaya Girl Kristen Preau and the guy is her brother Kevin. When you get home from Sam s you can cook up the same jambalaya from a pack of Cook Me Somethin Mister jambalaya. Kristen and Kevin aren t cooking at Sam s out of desperation for you to sample their jambalaya, Cook Me Somethin Mister is available in over 600 stores across the country. It s manufactured in association with Louisiana s original celebrity chef, Paul Proudhomme. Ray and Margo s taste test affirms this jambalaya is the real deal. The pouch contains delicately seasoned and perfectly balanced rice that creates a home made tasting jambalaya with all the richness and texture you d make yourself if you were Paul Proudhomme. Kristen and Kevin s father was an outdoor cooking hardware guy he created the grill which started up Proudhomme s "blackened" Louisana food revolut

"Food evangelism" probably doesn t sound too appealing, but spend a few minutes in the fresh food revival tent with Emery Sonnier and Kimisha Sawyers and you ll be testifying you ve seen the light and a holy band of green angels. Emery is the Associate Director of Market Umbrella, the folks who put on 4 Farmers Markets a week in New Orleans. Kim is the market s Evaluation Manager. Growing up in a Sicilian New Orleans family and working as Assistant Editor of Food and Wine magazine New York, Emery knows a thing or two about food. Her road to the healthy side of diet came via the traditional NOLA foodie route of working in restaurants in various capacities but it was Katrina that gave her the final kick in the pants and dragged her home and headed for healthy. Also growing up in New Orleans, Kim ate plenty of home cooked meals but they were made without regard to healthy contents. A trip to Taiwan her first foray out of the country suddenly opened her eyes to the possibility that she could live her life any way

You might think naming a restaurant after a ditch is maybe sending the wrong message about the standard or even type of food you d expect to get there. But when the ditch is "Trenasse" the Cajun French word for a cut through in the bayou and the location is the tony Intercontinental Hotel on St Charles Avenue in New Orleans, it all starts to make sense. Chef Jean Pierre Guidry has a prestigious name in American kitchens, having worked this way through both the CIA and the culinary college of real world restaurants in France and the US, including a long stint alongside Chef Daniel Boulud in New York. When Chef JP heard Lafayette native, Commander s Palace among others alumn, and Florida s famed Stinky s Fish Camp owner Chef Jim Richard was opening a New Orleans restaurant that was Cajun inspired, based on the principle "simple things done right," JP was in, shrimp boots n all. Patrick James is as excited and passionate about Trenasse as Jean Pierre, which is probably just as well seeing he s the restaurant s G

When Barrie Schwarz went home from work as a food runner in a restaurant and tried to figure out what she could do to open a business in between throwing parties at her house, she realized that maybe if she combined all three parts of her life throwing parties at her house for the people at work as a business she d hit a home run. Well, it wasn t totally a home run but it was a lead off double and led her to the next step throwing parties at places other than her house and getting people other than the chefs at her work to do the catering. And so was born My House NOLA mobile kitchens aka food trucks who cater events Barrie plans in places other than her house. When a 7 foot tall friend of a friend showed up at a party with his Spanish room mate, presto Jordi Figueras was the regular sized Spaniard who, it turns out, drives a pedicab, designs websites, fixes stuff, and knows a thing or two about business thanks to graduating from Tulane Business School and never going home. Jordi and Barrie obviously enjoy wo

Scott and Jane Wolfe got married and opened their first grocery store when he was 19 and she was 17. A few grocery stores later Jane and Scott were to discover a factoid about marketing that changed their lives and etched an indelibe icon into the minds of all New Orleanians. Dispensing with every other daily special in their grocery stores, Scott and Jane swung for the fences and hit a home run with their never ending meat specials. Now, all these years later, after pre katrina i.e. voluntary retirement they re back. Jane went to school and graduated with a masters in divinity from Harvard yes, the real Harvard and while she stuidied, Scott threw himself into building a new business. Melba s is a poboy shop, an art gallery, an art studio, a neighborhood meeting spot and on top of all that it s open 24 hours a day. New Orleans is not short on innovators in the food, arts, entertainment and social gathering fields, but you ll go a long way till you meet folks who combine all those skills and who are this delig

When you grow up on the Bayou you learn to catch and cook pretty much anything that moves. When you get to be Executive Chef at one of New Orleans leading hip restaurants like Tivoli and Lee you can be "influenced" by your childhood roots but you can t totally replicate that cuisine. Chef Marcus Woodham is a product of Bayou Goula but the dishes he creates and serves on Lee Circle are a couple of degrees removed from the squirrel head gumbo his mom makes. Once you ve gotten past the subject of Squirrel Head Gumbo you crack the heads open by "giving them a good whack" with a butter knife by the way you d be forgiven for assuming the rest of the conversation would seem pretty tame. Not on this show. Don t let Kirk Estopinal s suave demeanor fool you. Kirk, as co owner of Cure, Hotel Modern, Bellocq, and Cane and Table, is admittedly a master of craft cocktails, Southern dining, and hospitality. What you might not know about him, and probably until tonight only his wife knew about him, is that Kirk has leanings

Molly Kimball is New Orleans highest profile proponent of eating healthy, but she s no tyrant. Molly is happy for you to go to your favorite restaurant and order your favorite meal. She also believes that your favorite restaurant can make your favorite meal with no white carbs meaning without or with less white sugar or white flour. Putting her money where her mouth is, literally kind of Molly s crusade Eat Fit NOLA works with New Orleans restaurant chefs to craft their same awesome meals without the fat and heart attack quotient. Over 40 NOLA restaurants, including Brennan flagships Commander s Palace and Cafe Adelaide, are on board and the program is catching on in commercial kitchens city wide. Molly s 1 is her visiting friend Jocelyn Lockwood who, on her first night back in New Orleans in almost a year, bravely agreed to come on Midnight Menu 1. If you think you ve seen Jocelyn and Molly before, you have they were together on WGNO TV s Get The Skinny when Jocelyn lived in New Orleans. Around a year ago Jo

When acclaimed Boston chef Dustin Brien mistakenly applied for a job as a line cook at Salu restaurant on Magazine in Uptown New Orleans neither he nor the equally confused owner understood what either of them was thinking. Once they got the confusion sorted out, the restaurant owners decided to ditch their plans to hire a chef they had lined up and put their chips on Dustin. It turned out to be a good bet. Chef Dustin shook up the menu and, insider tip he s in the process of changing it up again and moved the restaurant from tapas to bistro. Half a block down Magazine Street the owners of Salu decided to convert their restaurant Byblos into a Mexican restaurant under the stewardship of ex Emeril s, ex Guillermo Peters disciple Richard Papier. Thus was born Arana and the brothers in arms team of Chef Richard and Chef Dustin. These young chefs are at the top of their game. Their love of food, entertaining, and life itself whether or not they choose to remember it shines through this entire sparking conversatio

The last thing you d think of as British food is hot dogs, right Right. And if you were going to import hot dogs into Britain the last person you d turn to would be a foodie from New Orleans. Right Wrong. Skip Murray introduced the unsuspecting Brits to the delicacies of second rate meat on lame white bread roll buns before realizing if that if he amped up his game he could create a gourmet dog and be on to a worldwide first. That s exactly what he did and had a thriving business in London for many years. Till Katrina hit. The hurricane s damage messed with a lot of people s psyches and Skip was one of them. It dragged him home. Back in New Orelans Skip got together with a few friends from high school and with them took a chance on a 475 square foot dilapidated shack on Freret Street that was the first Dat Dog. More recently he s branched out and opened a location that sells more than dogs, that s Dis and Dat. When you meet a guy called "Kiss" what s the first thing you think Gene Simmons, right What s the se

Traditionally in America there have been two sure fire ways to get out of a life of poverty sports and music. Here is New Orleans there s also another route food. Following in the footsteps of Catholic Charities success story Cafe Reconcile in Central City, Cafe Hope started up on the Westbank, giving disadvantaged kids courses in kitchen and front of house skills that they can then apply in the wider world of restaurants, service industry, and culinary arts. Cafe Hope s Executive Director Luis Arocha tells Ray and Margo inspiring tales of his students but none can be more inspired or inspiring than Luis himself. The tale of his conversion from wealth management professional to running a charity is the most life changing food story you ve ever heard. Stan Meadows restaurant adventures are as unique as any food tale you ve heard too. Stan runs the only good restaurant between Gulfport, Mississippi and Panama City, Florida Stinky s Fish Camp. The secret to Stinky s success is Chef Richard, a graduate of Command

If you don t hear this for yourself you won t believe it. It s hard to imagine a more innocent opening question to ask Chef Kevin White, the kitchen mastermind behind the Freret Street bistro success, Wayfare. Margo simply asks Chef Kevin, "How did you get started cooking " From there the conversation starts down a fascinating road that takes us from eating snakes in the Iraqi desert to cooking pasta with Mario Batali in New York. So far so good. So how exactly does that turn into a plea for the use of women s breast milk in cooking Ray is as enthusiastic about the culinary delights of breast milk as Chef Kevin, and Margo is not exactly opposed to the concept. If you ve wondered when you re ever going to hear a serious discussion about recipes for human breast milk, from milkshakes to cheese, complete with a healthy dose of hilarity, you re in luck. Chef Kevin s serious about solid food too, specifically sandwiches. Describing Wayfare as a "dynamic sandwich brasserie," the Batali trained pasta chef describes

Mike Yusko came to New Orleans the same way many have before him "I met a girl from Hammond." Yanked out of the cosmopolitan world of tending Bohemian bar in downtown Los Angeles, Mike found himself pioneering the cosmopolitan world of Bohemian Freret Street at newly opened Cure. Creating drinks named after movies and Czech novels, like The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Mike didn t start writing moody novels in his off hours, but he did start making movies. Like the festival favorite, I m Gonna Punch Sam Mackey In The Face. One of the stars of Mike s movies is the urbane import from the hinter farmlands, John Cleese lookalike, Wayne Corbett. Wayne showed up in town with nothing to do a few years ago and with no real kitchen experience landed a job at the newly opening Bouligny Tavern, making dishes like gnocchi which he had never heard of and couldn t pronounce. Everything went great for a few years till Wayne realized that people s appetites were never satisfied and there would be no end to cooking. Not b

Harveen Khera s ethnic background daughter of Indian and Malaysian parents growing up in London and her cuisine career including working in San Francisco s finest restaurant and opening her own bar prepared her for almost any epicurean eventuality. Except being the chef in a New Orleans kosher kitchen. But that s exactly what she is, and she s killing it. Harveen is the founding chef at Hillel s Kitchen, the local, organic, seasonal, kosher restaurant in the Hillel House on Broadway, a part of Tulane University. She makes everything from scratch from granola to bread, from burritos to burgers has a full fresh juice bar, bagel bar and salads. There s even a free matzah ball soup hotline if you re sick Hillel delivers. Harveen s non food partner in this enterprise is the guiding light of Tulane Hillel, Rabbi Yonah Schiller. Harveen s 1 guest on tonight s show, Yonah s philosophy of community and sharing inspires and shapes the dining experience. Midnight Menu 1 moved into a new home tonight at Chappy s Restaura

Sometimes you meet people who have moved to New Orleans and when they tell you their life story all you can think is, "Thank God you found New Orleans. There s no other place in the world you could be yourself." How about tonight s guest on Midnight Menu 1 for an example Where else in the world could you be a genuine Samurai custom cake baker hat maker Mardi Gras parade Marshall make up artist Meet Midori Tajiri Byrd. Yes, they re all Midori s cakes. And that s not half of the story. Midori is genuinely a Samurai the last of a long line of Japanese warriors and rulers whose Japanese family lineage stretches back into the mists of history. Check out the traditional tattoo on her palm. Midori s 1 describes himself as "the only chef in New Orleans without a tattoo" and the reason he doesn t have a tattoo is the reason he ended up a chef. A veteran of a slew of NOLA restaurants from Harrah s to Isis Matthew Ratcliff is a chef for hire, catering events with his company Crescent Cookery. Matthew made some brisket a

Two guys walk into a bar. One owns a beer brewing store. The other is opening a brewery. They sit down at a bar table with the guy who owns the bar, and a guy who despite being known as "The Man Who Ate New Orleans" hasn t had anything to eat all day. They proceed to drink extra strong craft beer that the guy from the beer brewing store brought with him. What happens next You re listening to it. Margo thankfully for her sake couldn t make it tonight so Phil from Phil s Grill sat in for her and co hosts the show with Ray. Besides drinking beer Phil is also drinking one of Phil s Grill s signature cocktails The Toussaint Tchoup which is a bourbon drink garnished with a piece of fried bacon. yes, IN the drink. Kyle duPont from Brewstock the brew shop explains the finer points of brewing your own beer at home. Scott Wood breaks the big news that after years of jumping through hoops, today is the day he got an occupational license from the City of New Orleans to wait till you hear this open a brewery Courtyard Bre

Bryan Gilmore likes to mix it up. Blast freeze it. Thaw it. Freeze it. Serve it. That s how you make ice cream and that s what Bryan does all day on Prytania Street in the old McKenzie s Bakery, which according to the Historic Places designated red neon sign outside, is still McKenzie s but in fact is Creole Creamery, Uptown s favorite ice cream shop. Imagine if you could eat all the ice cream you want, from childhood, and never get cavities in your teeth. That s what is happening to Bryan s kids. Because they brush with Theodent the chocolate toothpaste created in New Orleans. The creator of Theodent is the mad scientist genius Dr Arman Sadeghpour. Who also happens to be Brian s 1 guest on this episode of Midnight Menu 1. Tips on how to keep ice cream fresh frozen at home, the "scoop" on foie gras ice cream, the secret to good teeth, and more... This is hands down the most educational decadent healthy New Orleans podcast in ice cream and toothpaste history.

Franky Vivid is one of the most colorful characters in the New Orleans food ecosystem. Franky is the wearer of many hats, most of them related in one way or another to scantily clad or naked women. Franky is the producer of internationally renowned burlesque shows Superstars of Burlesque, and Burlesque Hall of Fame. He's the co founder of the live event and website, Naked Girls Reading, and if you're wondering how any of this gets you invited on Midnight Menu 1, Franky Vivid is the creator and principal contributor to the blog, website and way of life Cooking For Strippers. Franky didn t always coook for strippers. Not till he married one. Michelle L amour is one of the world s best known burlesque entertainers and an internationally renowned teacher of burlesque. Besides being Franky s 1 on this show, Michelle, aka Mrs Vivid, is the inspiration for Franky s culinary exploits. Michelle holds a burlesque intensive series of classes each year and, well, a girl s gotta eat. Realizing that he enjoyed feeding burl

When you come from a New Orleans family of 10 kids it can sometimes be difficult to remember what number sibling your sister is even if she is your business partner and closest friend. Of course you can always blame your faulty memory on the Bloody Mary that you have to drink to be sociable because they re making it with the Bloody Mary mix you and your sister 6 produce. Or maybe it s the martini you had to drink to be sociable because they re making it with the spicy olive juice mix and olives that you and your sister 5 bottle from your dad s old family spicy olive recipe. It s hard to imagine people having more fun running their own business than The Louisiana Sisters Karen Poole and Sharon Poole Mahne. Sharon and Karen started up their now rockin olive biz using a recipe their dad created that they got doctored up for supermarket shelves by a guy they know only as "Chef Happy." No kidding. Louisiana Sisters products are across Louisiana in almost every grocery store from Langenstein s to Whole Foods and na

When Margo s away, Ray will play, by inviting his friend and filmmaker, Dylan Field Turner. Not ones to wait around, Ray and Dylan waste no time in welcoming our guest, Dave Wright, owner and head Chef at Del Fuego Taqueria. Dave talks about how Del Fuego serves regional food, taking the cooking styles from various parts of Mexico. He also talks about coming to New Orleans for an internship at the Culinary Institute of America and, like so many, never leaving. He also brought some of Fuego s signature cocktails, and who better to serve cocktails than Dave s plus one, Debbie Shatz. Debbie, who seriously, doesn t work out, gets her exercise tending bar at 45 Tchoup serves us some amazing cocktails, all of them named after some classic, and not so classic, films. So listen now if you ve ever wanted to know the Spanish title for Firestarter.