From KCRW, I'm Evan Klyman, and this is good food.

Valentine's Day, the year of the horse, Fat Tuesday, pick your party because there are ample reasons to celebrate this week.

As an introvert, Mardi Gras has long fascinated me.

I cannot fathom the socializing that takes place during carnival season,

but beyond Mardi Gras, the food of New Orleans has always drawn travelers lured by the city's

unique mix of Creole and Cajun culture. According to historian Dr. Ashley Rose Young,

the city's food scene has roots in a vibrant street

food culture that stretches all the way back to the city's origins. She explores the topic in

her book, Nourishing Networks, the public culture of food in New Orleans. Hi, Ashley. Hi, Evan. Thank you so

much for having me today.

Oh, we're so glad you were able to come.

The book is so interesting.

So your book took root in 2009 when you were an intern at the Southern Food and Beverage

Museum in New Orleans.

Can you tell us a bit about how that experience

working there shaped you and then inspired the idea for this book? Of course. And I started that

internship just with a general appreciation for New Orleans culture. I had never been to the city before,

but I had learned about it through studying French and in our French classes. We would

celebrate Mardi Gras every year. And I had recently become a history major at Yale, and I thought

I was going to write a thesis on the American Revolution.

But I had this internship that kind of fell into place, and I got to New Orleans into the

Southern Food and Beverage Museum, where I met my mentor, Liz Williams. And she completely,

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