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August 20, 2010

ULM History Professor featured in new LPB series

The Louisiana Public Broadcasting show After the Hunt features world renowned Cajun and Creole Chef John Folse, with help from featured guests such as Roger Carpenter, an assistant professor of history at ULM, as he presents a historical perspective on prime influences to Louisiana cuisine in the newest addition to his ongoing series A Taste of Louisiana.

Last April, Carpenter was interviewed at Gile's Island on the Mississippi River for an episode about the food eaten during the Lewis & Clark expedition. During the episode, Chef Folse broiled beaver tail, reportedly a favorite dish of Captain Lewis. The goal of the Lewis & Clark expedition, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, was to gauge the resources available to the United States following the Louisiana Purchase in the early 1800s.

“Jefferson believes that there might be some sort of short portage between the Missouri and the Columbia rivers,” states Carpenter, in the launch episode of After the Hunt.

“He also wants the Americans to get to Oregon so that they have a claim this region, because already, of course, native people are there; but the British are there, the Spanish are there, and the Russians, of all people, are there.”

Carpenter taped the other portion of the show at the LPB studios in Baton Rouge in July.

LPB previewed the latest in the Taste of Louisiana series during their mid-August summer fundraising drive; the series is set to premier beginning Sept. 23. It is the 12th collaboration between LPB and Folse, with all 11 of the previous series airing on public television stations around the country.

A video of the episode and Carpenter’s commentary are available at the LPB Web site.

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