Frank Joseph Davis

Frank Joseph Davis (1942—2013) was a radio and television personality in New Orleans, Louisiana, distinguished by his tag line "Naturally N'Awlins" that concluded his on-air interviews.[1] He served New Orleans television station WWL-TV and its radio affiliate WWL-AM, from 1974 until his health-related retirement in 2011. Davis's inaugural broadcast responsibility was a live sportsman's radio talk show, following a brief career with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. His journalistic style shifted to on-air featured stories and interviews as his subject matter expanded from fishing in southeast Louisiana to the New Orleans Mardi Gras and the cuisine of New Orleans.[1] His outdoor sportsmen's reports tied together south Louisiana cuisine with the sport of fishing in a way that was said to be pioneering.[2] Davis perennially covered Mardi Gras festivities for local television audiences from a St. Charles Avenue broadcast booth. His death was due to Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, a rare autoimmune disease.[1]

Davis authored several cookbooks and other reference guides to the cuisine of New Orleans and to South Louisiana seafood. His culinary legacy included "bronzing", a toned-down version of blackening.[3] He invented the "Strictly N'Awlins" series of seasonings.[3] Davis's culinary papers were donated to the SoFab Culinary Library and Institute subsequent to his death.[3]

In 2014, the Louisiana State Legislature named the I-10 Twin Span Bridge that links Orleans Parish and St. Tammany Parish over the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain the "Frank Davis 'Naturally N'Awlins' Memorial Bridge".[4] This is an area where Davis often fished.[4]

Selected books
  • Frank Davis Makes Good Groceries: A New Orleans Cookbook, Pelican Publishing, 1985, ISBN 1589805364.
  • The Frank Davis Seafood Notebook, Pelican Publishing, 2008, ISBN 0882893092.
  • Frank Davis Cooks Cajun, Creole, and Crescent City, Pelican Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1565540557.
  • Fisherman's Tackle Box Bible, Pelican Publishing, 2003, ISBN 9781589801288.

References
  1. "Frank Joseph Davis obituary". The Times-Picayune. December 11, 2013.
  2. T. Mason, The Times-Picayune, December 10, 2013, accessed August 17, 2014.
  3. J. Walker, The Times Picayune, December 10, 2013, accessed August 17, 2014.
  4. E. Lane, The Times-Picayune, June 9, 2014, accessed August 17, 2014.
  • Videos of Frank Davis's "Naturally N'awlins" features are available on-line courtesy of WWL-TV.
  • A photograph of Frank Davis is available on-line.
  • Representative recipes created by Davis are available on-line.
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