Food

New Orleans restaurant culture is abuzz with different flavors, new fashions and even a new lexicon these days. Some places set the pace and others struggle to keep up. But then there are those that ignore them altogether, and in some cases stand apart, by essentially standing still. Leni's Café is one example.

Fresh seafood has helped define Louisiana's cuisine for centuries. This week a field of experts join us on Louisiana Eats! to discuss how our local seafood is caught, distributed and consumed.

We'll hear from Paul Greenberg about the environmental changes that threaten the Mississippi River shrimp; listen how members of the Gulf Seafood Trace program improve consumer relationships with local fishers; and find out how the shrimp industry has changed in the past 20 years from seafood distributor Louis Raines.

With nearly 70 food vendors and over 200 dishes, Jazz Fest isn’t simply a music destination, it’s a foodie paradise. But that makes vendor selection and organization an arduous task.

Fortunately, just the right woman is leading the process. Michelle Nugent has been the Jazz Fest Food Director since 1999 and has a culinary résumé befitting a world-class chef. She spent 17 years working with chef Susan Spicer, first as an apprentice, then as Bayona’s sous chef, and finally as the executive chef at Spice Inc.