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he grew up here and knew the food culture and what people would like, I think it really resonated with what people would want on their Thanksgiving table,” Massa says, noting that Davis even had a small role in helping popularize the turduchen. “Even as a broadcaster, he had a tone of voice where you can hear him in the recipes when you read them.” No matter how many viewers considered Frank their next of kin during Franksgiving and Naturally Noel, Frank’s wife, Mary Clare, recalls that Frank always found a way to put their tight-knit family first. “Frank just loved every minute of it. As busy as he was, we’d go grocery shopping and plan the menu, and he would pick out what to fix. I don’t know how he got all these wonderful ideas about Thanksgiving, but he did. They used to make little booklets and put them in the grocery stores, and everybody was so excited about all the Franksgiving recipes.” For the Davis family, the holidays also meant having everyone join in the festivi ties, both on-screen and off. “The grandkids always loved to watch the cooking shows with Frank during the holidays. In fact, my granddaughter, Elise, used to join him a lot of times and go on the set and help prepare the holiday dishes,” remembers Mary Clare, who herself served as Frank’s on-screen assistant for many years. “They were all so interested in what their grandfa ther did. It was just a wonderful time during Thanksgiving and Christmas for everyone to gather and see those things that he enjoyed doing so much and that his family enjoyed watching him do.” “The recipes he made are simple, but he didn’t make it sound simple. He made it sound like it was the most interesting thing — and they would tease him about that,” laughs Massa. “It might be just cranberry sauce, but he would make it into something really exciting and different, and something that you may have taken for granted that he then elevated in a different way. It also made it fun: I think that was another big part of what he did. He made it interesting, and that’s why he was so successful at it for so many years.” Frank’s passion for and expert knowledge of the South Louisiana outdoors —and fishing in particular — also factored heavily into his recipe development, and positioned him as one of the first front-and-center advocates for accessible, thoughtful wild-caught

The first time I saw Frank he was in a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries uniform…[and] during that time, Frank learned about cooking fish and game as only a person devoted to preserving our bayous and wildlife, and to appreciating the abundance of what we have to eat in Louisiana on a year-round basis, can do. I consider Frank a number-one authority on cooking and eating the fresh fish and game of Louisiana.

Chef Paul Prudhomme in the foreword to Davis’s 1983 book, The Frank Davis

Seafood Notebook . “I consider Frank a number-one authority on cooking and eating the fresh fish and game of Louisiana.” “The first time Frank came to our Village East Store in Houma was to make an appear ance for a Crisco promotion, but I remember what he liked about that particular store visit was that it’s right there on the way down to Cocodrie — to the CoCo Marina — coming from New Orleans,” recalls Tim Acosta, longtime Advertising & Marketing Director for Rouses. “I just remember him saying that he felt familiar with the store location, because I guess he was going down there to fish, and that he didn’t mind coming down because it put him that much closer to the Gulf of Mexico! Everybody loved Frank Davis, I tell you. He was authentic. He was like everybody’s favorite uncle and always had stories to tell. Not a chef, or nothing like that, but just always down to earth.” “Frank was pretty self-taught. He didn’t come from a cooking school or a restaurant background. But he made things fun and relatable, and I think that was a secret to Frank’s success,” Massa says. “As we know, Thanksgiving can also be a stressful time, but he didn’t make putting together the perfect menu stressful. He made it fun. He made it interesting and creative. Also, the recipes were just so Louisiana, with the ingredients he used, the presentation and the style of the dishes.” There’s a gregariousness and wink-and a-nod affection to Davis’s recipe instruction that make you feel as if you’re joining in on a thrilling kitchen adventure with Frank, the fearless leader, there to guide you every step of the way. With a penchant for

— Chef Paul Prudhomme in the foreword to Davis’s 1983 book, The Frank Davis Seafood Notebook

cooking instruction on broadcast television — not just in Louisiana, but nationally. Long before farm-to-table or “locally sourced” seafood could be found on every fine dining menu across the city, Frank Davis was showing exactly how freshly caught fish could not only be prepared successfully but taken directly from Gulf to plate. “He was so full of knowledge about the seafood industry and seafood in Louisiana, but in fact, he covered quite a bit of area,” Mary Clare recalls. “It wasn’t just Louisiana. It was all about different kinds of the fish from different places and how to fix them.” “The first time I saw Frank he was in a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries uniform… [and] during that time, Frank learned about cooking fish and game as only a person devoted to preserving our bayous and wildlife, and to appreciating the abundance of what we have to eat in Louisiana on a year round basis, can do,” wrote the late, great

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