Show 585, July 13, 2024: Jambalaya Girl from New Orleans – Kristen Preau

Kristen Preau Moore is the Jambalaya Girl

Jambalaya Girl (Kristen Preau Moore) by Cook Me Somethin’ Mister is a family and women owned business that brings an authentic taste of New Orleans to the world with easy to prepare food products, inspired by Jambalaya Girl’s family recipes. Drawing from her family’s upbringing in the New Orleans cooking scene and her creation of a nationwide tailgating fundraiser following Hurricane Katrina, owner Kristen Preau “Jambalaya Girl” created Cook Me Somethin’ Mister initially from her Dad’s jambalaya recipe. All products are now proudly made in New Orleans with the finest ingredients and are specially blended by Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends.” We’re joined by the Jambalaya Girl herself, Kristen Preau, to cook up all the good eating that is Jambalaya Girl food products from New Orleans.

From New Orleans Gambit Weekly, Top 40 Under 40 Cover Story: “Known as the “Jambalaya Girl,” Kristen Preau says she was given the title while stirring her father’s cast-iron pot full of jambalaya at her brother’s sporting events… Preau came up with the concept for Cook Me Somethin’ Mister while traveling across the country to raise money for New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. She raised $100,000 for her hometown by serving jambalaya made from her father’s recipe at 11 college tailgates. It made her realize that people donated not only because they loved New Orleans, but they also loved the jambalaya.”

“Jambalaya Girl’s Dad, Paul, used to specially manufacture outdoor cookers for some of the top chefs in New Orleans and he always cooked classic New Orleans recipes, like Jambalaya Girl’s jambalaya, to showcase his cooking equipment. Paul manufactured the gas burner that the late Chef Paul Prudhomme used to prepare his famous Blackened Red Fish recipe. The burner was featured in Chef Paul’s mail order catalog and is pictured in his first cookbook, Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. (1984)”

“The Preau family cooked some of the first pots of Jambalaya to be served during the early years of French Quarter FestFun fact: Cook Me Somethin’ Mister still uses the same 40-gallon cast iron pot that was used to cook at the very first French Quarter Fest in 1983. That’s one well-seasoned pot!”

The Jambalaya Girl product line is available on Kristen’s Website as well as on Amazon.

Show 195, October 29, 2016: Ti Martin, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans

Ti Adelaide MartinThe Brennan Family represents the royalty of highly influential restaurateurs in New Orleans. The dynasty is led by the incomparable Miss Ella Brennan. She is a mother, chef mentor, and blunt-talking matriarch of the Brennan Family’s New Orleans empire whose flagship is the pioneering Commander’s Palace. Miss Ella and her daughter, Ti Adelaide Martin, have written her absorbing biography and, as expected, it’s a page-turner. Ti Martin joins us with a preview.

Ella Brennan, “Miss Ella,” changed the way America eats. At 18-years old, she went to work at her brother’s bar on Bourbon Street. The New Orleans dining scene had no idea what was about to hit it. Turns out it was one of America’s greatest business coaches, whose impact on the restaurant industry and Creole cuisine is evident across the nation today. Miss Ella of Commander’s Palace is the story of The Brennan Family’s beloved restaurant matriarch!

When Miss Ella and her family launched Commander’s Palace, it quickly became the city’s most popular restaurant, where famous chefs such as Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, and James Beard Award winner Troy McPhail got their start.

Ti Adelaide Martin is the daughter of Ella Brennan. Raised in New Orleans, she has followed in her mother’s footsteps and is now co-proprietor of Commander’s Palace. She remembers her mother “always hosting these lavish parties at our house,” she recalls. “There were always lots of interesting people there from around the country, many from the culinary world.”