To say that Nita Duhe lives and breathes New Orleans would be an understatement. Nita exudes what it means to be a New Orleanian by sharing her passion for local food, music, and culture with everyone she meets. The one way she educates and inspires people on the unique and beautiful charm of New Orleans is through what she does best: cooking.
Having grown up in New Orleans all of her life, and stemming from a long line of Louisiana ancestry, Nita shows no other place to call home. “Being from Nola means good food, good music and good times. That’s what we are all about here and that is soaked up in me and that is what exudes from my soul,” says Nita. Her grandmother was a large influence on her love for New Orleans, taking her to eat at Camellia Grill, grabbing beignets at Café Du Monde, or feeing pigeons in Jackson Square.
Nita started The Crescent City Cooking School a few years after Hurricane Katrina with the encouragement of her friends and family. She admits that she never had the opportunity to be classically trained in cooking like many local “celebrity chefs”, but her experience cooking with her family has given her enough to last a lifetime. “I was classically trained on the streets on Nola, where just about everyone is friendly and loves to talk about food, music and fun,” says Nita.
While her friends wonder how she manages to still provide great meals for her family with such a busy schedule, Nita states it’s because cooking is her passion and a big priority for her and her family. “After Katrina, when everything and everybody was just hanging on, I realized life is too short and I want to do what I love and I love to cook.”
Come visit Nita and soak up her knowledge and experience at one of her very own cooking classes – Or just stop by the shop to say hi and check out the shop! http://www.crescentcitycooks.com/classes.asp
