Poppy Tooker, author of a new book titled Pascal�s Manale Cookbook: A Family Tradition, will discuss it at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie. This event is free of charge and open to the public. This event is co-sponsored by the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, an annual five-day literary festival that occurs in the city of New Orleans each spring. The festival is dedicated to the Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Tennessee Williams. Every year, it features several events related to the long career of Williams, as well as writing workshops, panel discussions, literary readings, stage performances, a book fair, music, writing contests, and other events. Tooker�s exploration into the storied Uptown restaurant, which she calls one of the �jewels in New Orleans� culinary crown,� reveals the history of the family behind it and their influence on the city�s culinary culture. She says that in contrast to the chef driven French dishes of the Creoles, Sicilian cuisine came straight from mama�s kitchen just as the signature dishes on the tables of the eatery. A bastion of Italian cuisine in New Orleans, recipes for Pascal�s Manale�s best-known dishes, including barbequed shrimp, stuffed artichokes, and meatballs have fed their fans for more than a century. A native New Orleanian, Poppy Tooker is passionate about food and the people who make it. She was awarded both a master chef�s diploma and the cooking teacher�s diploma upon completion of Madeline Kamman�s legendary professional course. Her classical training and love of New Orleans cuisine has been recognized internationally and across the United States. She was awarded the Literary Award of the Year by the Louisiana Library Association in 2013. Tooker hosts the popular weekly radio show Louisiana Eats! For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.