Culinary Cemetery Tour

[TAPrice]

Save Our Cemeteries and the non-profit behind Tales of the Cocktail created a culinary cemetery tour of the Metairie cemetery. At the moment, they're running the tour free for people in the culinary industry. In October, however, they plan to offer the tour a few times for the general public.

Here are photos and quick notes on the tour. (I was shooting these photos through a rain-splattered bus windows and my camera was acting strange. For that reasons, the colors are off in some photos.)

Someday, this will be the final resting place Al "The Chicken King" Copeland. Considering that Al is one of the state's tackiest residents, his tomb is surprisingly tasteful.

This one is a little hard to read (and I can't explain the Led Zeplin colors), but Ruth Fertel, founder of the Ruth's Chris chain, rests here. There was no physical evidence that she turned over in her grave when the company abandoned New Orleans after the storm, but it's hard to believe that she didn't spin a few times.

The family that founded Delmonico's, now an Emeril operation.

The man who started College Inn, which became Ye Olde College Inn when the owner of Bruno's, which was also called College Inn at the time, complained.

The Brocato family tomb. Angelo Brocato is still making gelato over 100 later.

Count Arnaud of Arnaud's restaurant.

Founder of Broussard's, another old-line restaurant.

The Guste family, which still runs Antoine's.

One of the Brennan family tombs. Adelaide is buried here. In proper Brennan-family fashion, there is another family tomb across the street. I forgot to snap of picture of that one, which holds of the remains of Owen Brennan.

One of the families that started the United Fruit Company. The other family had a tomb next door.

Owner of Pascal's Manale.

A fruit seller who eventually bought a controlling interest in the United Fruit Company. He also has some responsibility for a Honduran revolution, but I can't remember the details.

Ok, this one isn't food related. It's Louis Prima's tomb. Notice the angel playing trumpet on top. The lyrics to "Just a Gigolo" are printed under Prima's name.

Diamond Jim Moran. He was born an Italian, but the Irish controlled the boxing business and he was a fighter, so he changed his name to Moran and became Irish. The guide said that his restaurant is now the location of Peristyle. Can someone confirm that?

Monteleone, of the French Quarter hotel. The family still owns the hotel.

I forgot to include the photo, but there was a tomb for the family that started that hotel that eventually became the Fairmont. Anybody know about the fake cave in the basement of that hotel? Sounds really cool.

[Holly Moore]

Way cool. And only in New Orleans I suspect.

Is Metairie Cemetary the "Forest Lawn" of New Orleans?

I suspect the odd coloring has more to do with your camera's ability to capture culinary aura than because of rain or bus windows.

[TAPrice]

I don't know enough about the cemeteries to know why so many food people are buried here. I suspect that it's because Metairie cemetery is one of the newest. It was founded after the Civil War on the site of an old race track. Tombs are still being built in the newer sections (we saw a few under construction).

You might be right about the culinary aura, although I'm distressed the Al Copeland and Ruth Fertel seem to have equal measures of culinary aura to mess with my camera. And Al's not even dead yet, although maybe he already buried some of his old hairpieces there.

[TAPrice]

Here are some details from the organizers:

NEW ORLEANS – (July 2007) –Tales of the Cocktail, the annual cocktail and culinary festival, having just wrapped up its fifth annual event with more than 12,000 patrons, will expand their reign on cocktail and culinary history with a new tour that explores the history of culinary greats who called New Orleans home.

Tales of the Cocktail has partnered with Save Our Cemeteries to create a Culinary History Tour of Metairie Cemetery. The two 501©3 non-profit organizations will look to educate the greater community and its visitors about the hospitality industry and the prominent restaurant proprietors buried in the historic cemetery.

“What an exciting and unique way to learn the success stories and inspirations behind New Orleans’ culinary stars like Ruth Fertel, Al Copeland, Angelo Brocato and Arnaud Casenave”, said Ann Rogers, founder of Tales of the Cocktail.

On Sunday, August 5, at 9 and 11 a.m., members of the hospitality industry are invited to take a complimentary one-hour bus tour of the Cemetery. This will be the first official Culinary Tour of Metairie Cemetery and industry members are asked to call 504-525-3377 to reserve their place on the tour. Additional complimentary tours have been scheduled for hospitality members on Sunday, September 23rd at 9 and 11 a.m.

In October, the tour will be made available to the general public.  Tours will be held on Sunday, October 7 and Sunday, October 28, at both 9 and 11 a.m.  The cost for tours for the general public is $18 per person - reserved in advance.  Call 504-525-3377 to make a reservation.

A self-guided culinary tour is also being developed by the two 501©3 non-profit entities. The tour was developed by Joyce Cole, a fifth generation New Orleanian who is a licensed commercial tour guide and donates her time to Save Our Cemeteries to preserve the very institutions where she takes her tour guests.

The New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to benefit hospitality industry members, produces Tales of the Cocktail annually. Its mission is to preserve the rich history of the restaurants and bars of New Orleans and the unique culture of dining and drinking famous to the city, while educating locals, visitors, and the hospitality industry about this culinary heritage.

Tales of the Cocktail, a culinary and cocktail festival, allows the connoisseur or amateur to fully experience (taste, see and learn about) cocktail culture in New Orleans and around the world. The event’s annual components are Spirited Dinners, a Seminar Series, Cocktail Hour, Cocktail Luncheons, walking tours of the French Quarter, and classic and contemporary cocktail parties -- all presented by the country’s hottest chefs, authors, bartenders and cocktail experts. For more information on Tales of the Cocktail, visit the website at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com and register your name to receive email updates, or call 504-343-4285.

Save Our Cemeteries, Inc., founded in 1974, is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the historic cemeteries of Louisiana, and to fostering a public appreciation for the architectural and cultural value of these cemeteries, visit www.saveourcemeteries.org to learn more about their preservation efforts.

[joiei]

Todd, thanks for the heads up on this probably only in New Orleans tourist attraction. Now we will have something to do besides dine when we make our plans to visit the city that I still love even though I have been gone for a long time.

[HungryC]

Interesting note on Ruth Fertel's tomb: she had the thing built well before her death, and she hosted a big party at the cemetery when it was completed--here's a link to a CNN story on the event: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/STYLE/design/...s.ap/index.html