cooking school: Big Easy Taste

"Creole is the original fusion food," Frank explains. "It has French, African, Spanish, and Caribbean influences that are hundreds of years old. It's what we call 'city food,' and it is a seafood-based cuisine. Cajun is 'country food' and is pork- and chicken-based. It didn't originally use a roux-the Acadian settlers didn't have access to flour. But this changed over time."

Photograph: Courtesy of NOCE

Recipes are at the end of this story.