Chef Dook Chase is the guide on a unique culinary tour of New Orleans
A new series from WYES-TV showcases the rich food traditions of New Orleans through the eyes of Chef Edgar “Dook” Chase IV. The executive chef of the historically significant Dooky Chase Restaurant walks viewers through this delicious mix of origin stories, legendary dishes, family lore and unique local traditions for a one-of-a-kind look at the food of the Crescent City.
Each of the 26 episodes in Dook Chase: A Chef’s Journey follows Dook, the grandson of James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Leah Chase, as he visits some of the places and people at the heart of New Orleans’ legendary cuisine. The chef then brings those experiences back to the kitchen where he creates tasty recipes inspired by his journey.
Dook takes viewers to the small town of Madisonville, where his grandmother grew up, for a look at his family’s tradition of preserving garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. In his kitchen, the chef prepares canning specialties that carry forward those time-honored techniques.
For other family memories and special dishes, Dook joins his mother Alva, Leah’s niece Cleo Robinson and Chef Zoe Chase in the kitchen to share recipes and stories from the restaurant in Treme founded in 1941 by Edgar “Dooky” Chase, Sr. and his wife Emily. In a fun cooking session in his home kitchen, Dook’s wife Gretchen and children, Sidney and Vito, cook family favorites.
On this curated tour, Dook compares notes about food and family legacy with Chef E.J. Lagasse who took the reins of Emeril’s, his father’s flagship restaurant, in 2022. With stops at Cochon, Commander’s Palace and Dakar NOLA, he connects with chefs who have elevated Creole, Cajun and West African cuisine to the forefront of fine dining in the city.
In a series of multicultural episodes, Dook visits local Italian, Vietnamese, Indian and Latin-American establishments where chefs recreate the food from their homeland. Back in the kitchen, Dook prepares dishes that incorporate the flavors and techniques of New Orleans’ mosaic of culinary traditions.
With an emphasis on how dishes and ingredients reflect the city’s history, Dook delves into New Orleans brunch specialties at his newest restaurant, Chapter IV, and gets a sausage making lesson at Vaucresson Sausage Company, established in 1899.
On Dook’s travels he draws inspiration from a baking master class in New Orleans’ Central City with pastry chef Kaitlin Guerin, gets hands-on farm-to-table experience at a multigenerational vegetable farm in Plaquemines Parish and takes a deep dip into his guilty pleasure – ice cream – at Sweet Saint in the French Quarter.
Other episodes explore the majesty of the city’s river heritage, seafood, culinary arts education, and the tasty connection between cooking and music.
Jim Moriarty is executive producer of the series, which is produced and directed by Terri Landry. She has led 17 national public television cooking series for WYES, including The Dooky Chase Kitchen: Leah’s Legacy.
Executive Producer
Jim Moriarty
Producer/Director
Terri Landry
Associate Producer
Dawn Smith
Video Editor
Lenny Delbert, Sr.
Assistant Editor
Steven Patriquin
Original Music
Score Music, Inc.
Musicians
Jep Epstein
Cranston Clements
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ABOUT WYES:
WYES is the storyteller for New Orleans, southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For 66 years, WYES has earned a reputation for quality PBS programming, award-winning local documentaries and cooking series. Thank you for making WYES a vital source of education, information, and entertainment – on air and online. For more information, call (504) 486-5511 or visit wyes.org. Like us on Facebook (wyes.neworleans). Follow us on Twitter (@WYESTV) & Instagram (wyestv).
ABOUT APT:
American Public Television (APT) is the leading syndicator of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations. Founded in 1961, APT distributes 250 new program titles per year and more than one-third of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles in the U.S. APT’s diverse catalog includes prominent documentaries, performance, dramas, how-to programs, classic movies, children’s series and news and current affairs programs. Midsomer Murders, America’s Test Kitchen, AfroPoP, Rick Steves’ Europe, Pacific Heartbeat, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television, The Indian Doctor, Legacy List with Matt Paxton, Lidia’s Kitchen, Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Kitchen, Simply Ming, The Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, Front & Center, James Patterson’s Kid Stew and NHK Newsline are a sampling of APT’s programs, considered some of the most popular on public television. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service and distributes Create®TV — featuring the best of public television’s lifestyle programming — and WORLD™, public television’s premier news, science and documentary channel. To find out more about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.
Dook Chase Biography: DOOK CHASE: A CHEF’S JOURNEY
The host for A Chef’s Journey is Chef Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, grandson of Louisiana culinary legend Leah Chase. Dook is the executive chef of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans. The iconic Creole dining spot, established in 1941 by his great-grandparents Emily and Dooky Chase Sr., was recently honored with a James Beard Foundation’s America’s Classics Award.
Dook has a master’s degree in business administration and was a successful accountant until he decided to focus on his passion for creative cuisine. When he was about fifteen, he started working the front of the house, waiting and busing tables, but eventually he made it into the kitchen and learned by cooking at his grandmother’s side. Working with Leah, a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, inspired him to venture into the world of hospitality and professional cooking full time.
In addition to his hands-on training, Dook also graduated from an intensive 6-month culinary program at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. He now runs his family’s restaurant in Treme along with other restaurants in his Chase Hospitality Group portfolio, including Leah’s Kitchen and Dook’s Burgers at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and Chapter IV in Downtown New Orleans.
Following the success of his appearance on the WYES-TV public television series The Dooky Chase Kitchen: Leah’s Legacy, Dook joined actress and show host Octavia Spencer as expert judge of the Food Network’s cooking competition Family Recipe Showdown.