New Orleans Cooking With Kevin Belton

In a new 26-part cooking series, chef Kevin Belton takes viewers on a tasty tour of New Orleans. From classic French to soul food to German, Irish, and Italian influences, New Orleans Cooking with Kevin Belton explores the diverse mix of cultures that contribute to the distinctive food of the Crescent City. The self-trained chef began cooking under the watchful eye of his mother and grandmother in the Uptown New Orleans home where he grew up. From these talented home cooks Belton learned to prepare the venerable dishes of the city and in his new series he'll share family recipes and personal tips for making seafood gumbo, pralines, shrimp remoulade, chicken Clemenceau, corn and crab bisque, pecan crusted redfish, red beans and rice, Cajun turkey and dirty rice, bananas foster and many other New Orleans specialties. Cooking instruction is second nature for Belton, who has spent the last 20 years teaching the foundation of Louisiana cooking to appreciative audiences. As an instructor at the New Orleans School of Cooking, located in a renovated French Quarter molasses warehouse built in the early 1800's, this homegrown chef has introduced more than 500,000 visitors from around the world to the food and rich traditions of the region. In addition to the almost 7, 000 lessons he has led at the cooking school, Belton has also offered classes and cooking demonstrations throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has been a featured chef and guest on numerous food programs including Emeril Live; Ready Set Cook; Like Love Lunch; Food Fighters; Taste of America; and Eating in the Bayou. In 1999, he was co-host and chef on the BBC series Big Kevin, Little Kevin, which also featured British celebrity chef Kevin Woodford. The series, taped in the United Kingdom and the U.S., aired in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. A companion cookbook co-authored by Belton, Big Kevin, Little Kevin - Over 120 Recipes from around Britain and America by TV's Odd Couple, was published by Ebury Press.