Dawn Richard: New Orleans Crawfish Boil

About this episode

Dawn Richard discusses her vegan journey and the cultural significance of the crawfish boil in New Orleans.

Dawn Richard is a proud New Orleans native and a true Renaissance Woman: singer; animator and Adult Swim creative consultant and owner of Papa Ted’s vegan food truck in New Orleans. Dawn went vegan back in 2013, in solidarity with her dad after he received a non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis. She talks about getting naked for PETA, the ethical intentionality behind her food truck and what (not-vegan) food she misses the most but will never eat again. Then we crack into the history & explore the culture of what is, perhaps, New Orleans’ oldest food tradition: crawfish! Food historian Dr Zella Palmer introduces host Rachel Belle to Al Scramuzza, the city’s late Crawfish King, and shares her favorite places to experience a crawfish boil in the city. Become a Cascade PBS member and support public media! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle. Sign up for Rachel’s (free!) biweekly Cascade PBS newsletter for more food musings. Follow along on Instagram. Order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame.

People in this episode

Host: Rachel Belle

Guest: Dawn Richard

Topics covered

• New Orleans cuisine
• crawfish boil
• vegan food
• food history
• cultural traditions

Keywords

• Dawn Richard
• crawfish boil
• New Orleans
• vegan food
• food history
• PETA
• Papa Ted’s

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PETA, Papa Ted’s

Places: New Orleans

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