Hurricane Katrina Pictures » Some Katrina Losses More Valuable Than Gold

Some Katrina Losses More Valuable Than Gold

One of the biggest things about South Louisiana and New Orleans in particular is our deeply rooted heritage of food and family recipes. One of the most important legacies lost in Katrina were entire family collections of recipes that had been handed down for more than several generations.

A lot of people will say “so what?”. In Louisiana, food is not only something to eat. It is an integral part of our history and culture. Losses of such a huge number of recipe collections is one of the hardest things survivors of Katrina face.

Marcelle Bienvenue edited a new book with Judy Walker, Cooking Up A Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. The book lists rich, authentic recipes from New Orleans residents who came together after Hurricane Katrina to preserve their culinary history. This story was featured on NPR on the show All Things Considered on December 10, 2008, hosted by Michelle Norris.

Here is the link to the 6 minute show segment: All Things Considered: Cooking Up A Storm

You can get a copy of this book here: