Keep Cookin': Friends of Louisiana Cookin' Magazine

Slowly, but surely

Ken Wells of the Wall Street Journal finds some good news (free feature): "The cooks are coming back to New Orleans."

Quote:

Ellen Harris, a freelance writer, photographer and producer, is one of the waitees (at Bacco on Chartres Street) and she's deliriously happy. "We needed good news in this town and word of Bacco's opening spread fast," she says. "It's not just the food, though. It's the ritual gathering with friends to laugh, to lament, to linger, to savor. This is the ritual of New Orleans -- we grew up doing this."

Camellia beans in demand

(From the Baton Rouge Advocate) "In Louisiana, Camellia Brand is synonymous with dried beans, in particular, red kidney beans. This explains, in part, why in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, grocery store shelves were stripped of Camellia Brand beans. It seemed everyone wanted the comfort of the classic south Louisiana red beans and rice dish."

(Full story)

Dine for America - Oct. 5th

On October 5, 2005, restaurants across the country will band together in a "Dine for America" day, a national fundraising effort to support the American Red Cross and help those affected by Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Sponsored by the National Restaurant Association, the idea for Dine For America began in the wake of September 11, 2001. A group of restaurant employees in Seattle, Washington was looking for a way for their company and co-workers to help in the relief effort. When they approached their CEO with their idea for a national "dine out" day and asked for his support, he not only encouraged them, he asked the employees to share their ideas with others in the industry. This year, over 15,000 have already sign-on to participate with 100% of the funds raised through going to the American Red Cross Gulf Coast hurricane relief efforts.

To find a restaurant near you that is participating, or if you own a restaurant and would like to participate, visit DineForAmerica.org.

Grounds for Hope in New Orleans

BusinessWeek Online reporter Stacy Perman recently interviewed Chris Morocco, president of PJs Coffee, in Atlanta, and Randy Hollingsworth, PJ's vice-president of operations, in Jefferson Parish, La., about their efforts to help rebuild both the community devastated by Katrina and the coffee company so closely associated with New Orleans.

Quote:

"I'm standing in Jefferson Parish, 15 minutes from downtown New Orleans, and it looks like a regular city. There is power and water. In New Orleans, there is water and electricity in parts of the central business district, the French Quarter, and Uptown. Our stores that are open are busy -- one [owner] is trying to...open a second store."

Full story here

In New Orleans, Cooks are Stirring

From the New York Times, "In New Orleans, Cooks are Stirring"

Quote:

"PEOPLE here just have to cook. They can't help themselves. That's why on Monday Kathleen Horn - Kappa to most people - laid a few pounds of bacon on the grill of her diner, Slim Goody's, and set about making chicken salad po' boys."

The reporter suggests it will be a long-road back for many of the restaurants she surveyed.

Our prediction: Like Louisiana Cookin Magazine, most of your favorite New Orleans restaurants will keep cookin.

tags: keepcookin, louisanacookin, new orleans restaurants

Chefs to Watch Dinners

Dear Chefs and associates:

I hope you all made it out of harms way  for Katrina. Right now, Charley and I are in Prairieville, living and  working out of a new RV we purchased. We are working on the December  issue of Louisiana Cookin' as we speak. We have been "adopted" by  Hammock Publishing out of Nashville, TN. They have graciously offered  any help they can for the next few issues, and are in the process of  putting a internet circulation campaign on for us. (see  www.louisianacookin.com)

We have also been in touch with Craig Cuccia, Executive Director of  Cafe Reconcile, who wants, as so do I ,to raise money for the restaurants in New Orleans, one of our most precious gems. We were  not sure where all of you are located, or how you all fared through the storm with your restaurants and homes, hopefully everything is  ok. We know the next few months will be terribly hard on this  industry as tourism will be down and most locals will be rebuilding. It is just in the beginning stages, but we were curious to see if you chefs would be interested in touring the country in various cities,  putting on "Chefs To Watch' dinners as fund-raising events for you and your fellow associates to keep our restaurant industry viable?

Our dinner at Cafe Reconcile will take place, however none of us are  sure exactly when. But in the meantime, we thought this would be a  great opportunity to put you all to work, give the United States a  taste of New Orleans, and help keep this world renown New Orleans  industry going.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Romney

NOLA restuaranters vow to rebuild

We plan to organize a directory of links to online information about Louisiana restuarants' progress in reopening. Until we get that together, we'll point to stories like this one from the L.A. Times called, "Only until further notice: In New Orleans, a city defined by its culinary culture, restaurateurs vow to rebuild."

Quote:

"According to a number of the city's prominent chefs and restaurateurs, that heartfelt tradition still remains, despite the nightmare still playing out. They all echo what Susan Spicer of Bayona and Herbsaint insisted from her brother's house in Jackson, Miss.: Nothing can kill the music or the food."

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