A taste of New Orleans

• By CAROL ANNE BLITZER AND TOMMY SIMMONS
• Advocate food writers
• Published: Oct 22, 2009
• The Association of Food Journalists annual conference was held in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Oct. 7-10. Today’s story covers what the writers and editors heard and sampled in New Orleans. Next week covers the Sugar Day Oct. 9 field trip to Baton Rouge.

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NEW ORLEANS — Food editors and writers from America’s major newspapers, magazines and food Web sites experienced the best of Louisiana — its food and culture — at the Association of Food Journalists annual conference Oct. 7-10 at New Orleans’ International House Hotel.

The event was co-chaired by Judy Walker, food editor of The Times-Picayune, and Tommy Simmons, Cheramie Sonnier, Corinne Cook, Carol Anne Blitzer and Camille Cassidy of The Advocate and included presentations and food from some of south Louisiana’s leading chefs and restaurateurs.

The conference opened on Wednesday with “The New Orleans You Don’t Know” theme featuring three panels — “Beyond French, Spanish and African-American Hands in the Pot;” “The Sicilian Connection, or Why Do All the Neighborhood Restaurants Serve Spaghetti and Meatballs;” and “Creoles Are Not a Fairy Folk: An Updated Definition, With Food.”

Here are some of the highlights from the panel discussions:

• The German influence on Louisiana cuisine started in the 1720s with the immigration of German peasant farmers to the parishes north of New Orleans. The Germans intermarried with the French and were assimilated into Cajun/Creole families in south Louisiana. Recognition of German culture and cuisine diminished during World War I and World War II and only recently has seen a resurgence; however, there is not one German restaurant in New Orleans.
   
• The Vietnamese immigrants have embraced the Cajun/Creole foodstuffs, incorporating redfish, gar, shrimp, crawfish and oysters in their traditional fare. As far as influencing Louisiana cooking, there has not yet been widespread use of the Vietnamese condiment fish sauce in Louisiana, rather Louisiana residents have enjoyed eating “real” Vietnamese dishes, like noodle bowls, steamed vegetables, fish patties and stuffed bread rolls called banh mi. New Orleans’ Vietnamese are community-oriented and operate communal gardens and markets in their neighborhoods, and according to the Rev. Vien Nguyen of Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church their goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in food production so they don’t have to wait months for a neighborhood supermarket to reopen in order to feed their families as they experienced following Hurricane Katrina.
   
• Louisiana’s Italian immigrants have preserved their culinary traditions from the 1890s on and are committed to passing down the recipes and culture to each generation. The first Italian immigrants came to work as indentured servants on the sugar plantations after the end of slavery. A typical contract required the immigrants to work for two years to pay for passage.

For most of the journalists, it was surprising to hear that there were at least two types of Italian cooking in New Orleans: one, with a more Arabic or Slavic influence, and the second, more French and Spanish in concept. An example of the contrasting styles is the seasoning of the red gravy. The Arabic-influenced Italian families added a pinch of sugar and cinnamon to the red gravy. The French/Spanish-influenced Italians not only did not add sugar to the red gravy, they also would never use a roux in making the gravy.
 

• Leah Chase, proprietor of Dooky Chase Restaurant and doyenne of New Orleans Creole restaurants, recognized Paul Prudhomme for bringing Creole and Cajun cooking into fashion. “Some people thought he stole Creole,” Chase said, “but that wasn’t the case. He cooked just like we did, and he wanted to make sure that the recipes and skills would be passed down. … Our people didn’t value their skills and talents; nobody tried to promote or market Creole cooking — it was just about making our families happy.”

Creole cooks also made red gravy, but they used a roux and tomato sauce in making the gravy — no tomato paste.

Vegetables were cooked down or stuffed in the Creole kitchen. According to Leah Chase, “We stuff everything, including people.”

Standard ingredients and seasonings in the Creole kitchen included garlic, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme and paprika. Celery was not typical. Celery would be used during the holidays. Most Creole cooks also used wine in cooking.

Sunday was gumbo day for the “Creoles de color,” as red beans and rice was the traditional Monday meal. A turtle stew was served at Easter in Leah Chase’s family.

Fridays were meatless, and in many households still are, in observance of Catholic customs.

After hearing about the immigrant influences that shaped New Orleans cuisine, the food journalists and event speakers formed a second line behind the Storyville Stompers for a milelong walk to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum for “A Taste of New Orleans,” a feast of food, drink and jazz.